On Bitter Wings
by Silver-WhiteKyurem
Summary: A group of scientists finally reach their goal when they fuse the DNA of a man and a crow. Over 300 years later, the resulting species split has led to a terrible war that threatens to tear everything anyone has ever cared for apart. A group of unlikely heros must learn to overcome their differences to take on the spreading plague of war before it is to late.
1. We've Done It

**We've Done It**

The boy writhed in intense agony, his spine bending as he curled around himself, trying desperately to fight the pain away. Sweat clung to his small body, a cold sheet in the cruelly cold room, its walls built of unloving concrete blocks, its floor of frigid white tile. A bed was tucked into a corner, next to the heavy wooden door that led to the tiny cubical of a restroom, but the boy ignored the presence of that small comfort. All he could comprehend was the terrible agony, the searing pain rippling in his shoulder blades. He cried out as it intensified, becoming more sharp and precise.

Several men and women in blindingly white lab coats watched the boy from the other side of a large window, scribbling notes onto clipboards in apathetic silence. Some wore glasses or goggles, others nothing. They did not react to the boy's shouts and screams, did not react to his writhing and thrashing. They remained cold and unflinching as he gave a final shout before blood, black with dead cells, shot forth in a sickening spout from between his dry lips.

The cold stone room fell silent as the boy's thrashing ended, his body falling still. The scientists watched him in silence for a moment, hoping he would do more than lie on the floor and bleed. They were disappointed. One of them, a woman with wavy red hair and hard brown eyes, sighed and shook her head.

"Damn, another failure. If we don't get better results soon, the Earl will cut our funding back even more." she growled angrily, her small fists clenching at the idea of all of her life's work going to waste.

"Formula 7-82-17 was a failure, it seems. Shall we try another, madame?" a short, sneaky looking man asked bluntly.

"One more. Perhaps we'll find the right formula before the turn of the century."

The short man nodded to a couple of younger men, who immediately left the room through a pair of double doors. He walked over to a desk and opened one of the drawers, pulling a small vial from it carefully. With a soft pop, he removed the stopper and swished the greenish fluid inside around.

"The year is 1867. Formula 7-82-18 to be administered to subject 90-46, a one "Carl Rogers". The day is the fifth of August." The red-headed woman said in a monotone as the subordinates around her scribbled her words onto their clipboards.

They watched as the two young men the short man had sent off entered the testing room through a set of doors on the far wall and dragged the body of the previous boy out of the room. One quickly returned with a rag to mop up the blood, then left just as quickly. A few minutes later, they returned, followed by a tall, thin, pale boy wearing only a pair of gray pants. The boy was shivering, looking around with wide green eyes, his thick blonde hair sticking to his face with sweat.

The two men led him to the middle of the room, then nodded curtly at him and left. He trembled and stared at the scientists, who eyed him with looks of boredom.

"Carl Rogers?" the short man asked dully.

"Y-yes, sir." the boy stammered back in fear.

"How old are you, Mr. Rogers?"

"Seventeen, sir."

"Any drug use? Tobacco, alcohol, anything?"

"No, sir."

"Any medical problems that you are aware of?"

"No, sir."

"Any family history of medical problems?"

"None that I am aware of, sir."

"Are you sexually active?"

"No sir."

The short man nodded to the other scientists in satisfaction, then returned his hawk-like gaze to the terrified boy in the cold stone room.

"Very well, Mr. Rogers, very well indeed. One last question, before we begin. Why did you volunteer for this study?" the short man asked.

"My family needs money, sir. This is the only quick way to earn a little bit of cash." the boy answered, shuffling uncomfortably.

The short man looked over his shoulder at the red-haired woman, who nodded at him stiffly. The short man smirked softly and handed the vial to a tall, dark man, who put the liquid into a syringe. He tapped the syringe, then walked into the cold stone room. He nodded to Mr. Rogers politely.

"Alright, Mr. Rogers, here's what is going to happen. My name is Granger, and I'm the head of formula development. Here I have formula 7-82-18. These experiments are on combining animal and human DNA to create a type of hybrid creature. I am going to inject you with this formula, and we are going to observe you to see what happens." Granger explained, sounding as if he had given this speech many times before.

"Will it turn me into some sort of hybrid?" Mr. Rogers asked quickly, his eyes widening.

"We shall see."

Granger carefully stuck the needle into Mr. Rogers's left arm, not reacting when he flinched a little in pain. He then nodded at him and left the room, locking the door behind him. He went to stand beside the red-haired woman.

"Mrs. Bowdler, the trial of formula 7-82-18 started at 6:48 PM. Delay of exactly one minute expected before the formula begins to take effect." Granger said softly, watching Mr. Rogers closely.

"What animal DNA is mixed with the formula, Granger?" Mrs. Bowdler asked, glancing at her watch to verify the time.

" A simple crow, Madame."

A few minutes passed, and nothing seemed to happen. Mr. Rogers stood awkwardly, looking around at the room. Soon, however, the scientists began to notice changes in his appearance and behavior. He grew very pale, and his skin seemed to become tighter, as if it was being stretched. His thin body was soon covered with a glistening layer of sweat, and his face burned with fever. He began to fidget, twiddling his thumbs and biting his lip nervously. The scientists scribbled furiously as his symptoms grew more and more noticeable as the minutes passed.

"Mr. Rogers, are you feeling anything as of yet?" the short man asked as the other researchers scribbled quickly on their clipboards.

"Uhm, I feel a bit nauseous, and there is an uncomfortable tightness in my shoulder blades." Mr. Rogers answered, rubbing one of his shoulders and sitting on the corner of the bed.

Mrs. Bowdler sighed and turned on her heel to glare icily at Granger.

"This one is going to turn out just like the other ones, Granger! The Earl will cut our funding for sure!" she snapped angrily.

"What? With all due respect, madame, you have to let the experiment run its full course before you can say if it was a failure or not." Granger responded defensively, crossing his arms over his chest.

Mr. Rogers suddenly crumpled to the ground and began screaming in pain, wrapping his arms around himself.

"See, this one is killing him faster than the last one killed that boy, Jimenson! Granger, I told you to find something that would work!" Mrs. Bowdler hissed at him.

"Perhaps I should use something other than crow DNA..." Granger murmured, tapping his foot in thought.

"If I may interrupt, look! Something's happening!" the short man yelped in excitement.

Both scientists turned quickly to look at the experiment. Mr. Rogers was bent on the floor, crying out in agony, but something was, indeed, happening. The skin on his shoulder blades was slowly rising off the bone, inflating like balloons. As it inflated, something could be seen wriggling and pushing around under the flesh. The scientists watched in stunned silence as the balloons of skin swelled, then they suddenly burst open, spurting blood and a clear pus all over the walls and ceiling.

Mr. Rogers howled in pain as two huge, damp wings rose from his shoulders. Black feathers hung limp from the appendages, and many plopped to the ground with a wet smack. The scientists stood, frozen in shock, as Mr. Rogers lay on the ground, panting heavily. He groaned and shivered, fluttering the wings slightly.

"M-Mr. Rogers? Are you alright?" the short man asked softly, creeping slowly toward the glass.

Mr. Rogers looked up quickly, his face contorted into a pained, fierce scowl, his teeth bared in anger. His eyes were no longer green, but a bright yellow, with slits for pupils. The scientists jumped back when he screamed and threw himself against the glass, beating his wings furiously.

"What...What have you done to me?" he rasped, his voice more of a harsh crow than a human voice.

"Mrs. Bowdler, it was a success! This one worked!" Granger cried happily, watching the angered man glare at all of the researchers and their furiously-moving pens.

Mr. Rogers screamed and pounded his fists against the glass. Mrs. Bowdler nodded at the two men who had led Mr. Rogers to his fate and each picked up a gun with tranquilizer darts inside instead of bullets, charging haphazardly into the room. Mr. Rogers howled in rage and jumped at them. They both shot him quickly, and he crumpled to the ground, unconscious. They turned and nodded to Mrs. Bowdler.

"A great victory, but it still needs some work, it seems. Mr. Bealer, make sure Mr. Rogers is put into restraints until we can run further tests, and send some money to his parents. Granger, it appears you have a bit of work to do. Otherwise, congratulations, team. We've done it." Mrs. Bowdler sighed and left the room, walking out into the night and smiling up at the cloudless black sky.

"I've done it."


	2. 318 Years Later

**318 Years Later**

Smoke rose and curled in thin gray wisps into the clear blue sky. Loud sounds, a rhythmic symphony, echoed in the air from its source, a three story building made from dark gray cement blocks. The heavy wooden door permitting entrance to the mysterious world within was propped open by a large chunk of stone. The small, round windows were all open, and the smoke from the fires and furnaces within fluttered into the sky. Inside, several men worked at an easy-going pace, hammering out bent swords and pouring molten steel into molds. Their bodies were covered with a thick dust of black soot, and their tail and wing feathers were all charred and burnt off in places. They were apprentices to the master smith, and worked diligently to complete their work.

"So, 52-97, what do you think of our progress in the war so far?" one man asked a fellow, his brown wings somewhat stumpy and charred by the flames.

"We're doing well so far, 27-63. Soon the Knights of the Sky will have wiped out all of the filthy humans from this world." his fellow shouted back over the rings, thumps, roars, whistles, and hisses of the busy forge. He had mottled gray-white wings, almost black now with soot.

"Yeah, those filthy vermin. Bombing the entire world and sending us back to living like in medieval times. You know, history says that humans actually created us hybrids a few hundred years ago." 27-63 replied with a nod, lifting a bucket of iron ore chunks and setting it on a table.

"That's true, but they didn't expect the hybrids to rise up and attack. And now there are different species of hybrids. What's the order that we're gonna destroy the others in again?" 52-97 smirked, starting to toss chunks of iron ore into the furnace in front of them.

"Ugh, it's simple. First we get rid of the humans, then the reptilians, then the mammalians, the amphibians, the insects, and then the aquatarians." 27-63 growled, helping his friend toss the ore into the flames.

"Then we avians will finally rule this world, like we were meant to! I feel sorry for all of those pathetic birds who refuse to fight for the Knights." 52-97 growled, spitting at the mere thought of such cowardice

"They'll join or die, simple as that." 27-63 said calmly with a shrug.

Suddenly, a new sound joined the symphony, a loud and pained solo rising over the din of the forge.

"AAUUUUUUUGGGHHHHHHH!"

The apprentices all paused in their work to listen to the shout that echoed from the third floor, the floor only the master smith was allowed to enter. They then chuckled softly and returned to their work, ignoring the string of curses from the smith's private forge, his sanctuary.

"Sounds like 85-21 has gone and hurt himself again." 52-97 chuckled.

"Yeah, great stupid pigeon. Probably smashed his thumb with a hammer again." 27-63 replied with a sarcastic smirk.

"Shut up down there and get back to work, you two, or I'll have all of your feathers plucked! And I'm not a pigeon, I'm a Great Grey Owl!" a voice from above snapped down at them, and they immediately went back to work.

The owner of the voice sighed and clicked his tongue, then turned and walked back into the forging room. He sighed and looked at himself in the mirror hanging from the back of the door. His reflection stared back at him with one bright green eye, the other hidden by his long black hair. His hair was messy and fell over his neck and right eye, only exposing one pointy ear. A silver loop ear ring hung from his left earlobe. He had a thin black mustache, and a small goatee as well, giving his face a rugged look. He was tall and thin, yet very muscular. Working for all of his life in the forge had done his body justice, making him one of the most sought-after men in The Knights of the Sky. Three silvery feathers, each with a black tip, stuck out of his hair from behind his left ear. He wore a pair of dark blue jeans with a black belt, and no shirt over his lean, muscular chest. Soot covered his lower body in a fine dust, and his long, silvery tail feathers were charred and burned. He had black feet much like a bird's, with four sharp-taloned toes on both. A strange, tribal-style tattoo ran over his left shoulder and part of his back, set in deep, black ink. Two massive wings rose from his shoulder blades, covered with silver and black feathers. While his tail was scorched from his years of work at the forge, he was very careful not to allow his wings to get damaged, lest it hurt his ability to fly.

85-21 walked over to his forging table and bent down, picking up the hammer that moments ago had smashed his thumb against the table. He glared at the offending hammer and twirled it around in his hand for a moment. He sighed and looked at the project he had been working on. He had been repairing a bent sword for one of the Knights of the Sky's generals who had been injured in a battle against the humans. He had been using the hammer to pound the weapon back into its original shape when he had missed the metal blade and hit his thumb instead.

"Meh, stupid hammer." he grumbled to himself, then lifted the tool and began smashing it down on the bent blade.

The blade rang out with each powerful blow of the smith's hammer. 85-21 didn't look it, but he was a very strong man, his many years in the forge strengthening his muscles until they were as hard as steel. He was twenty-four years old, and had been working in the forge since he was forced into the Knights of the Sky when he was seven. The repetitive rhythm of his hammering fell out of order as bitterness and anger entered his mind at the thought of the Knights.

The Knights were a group of avians, bird-hybrids, who believed that they were superior to all other races and that the other races deserved to be obliterated. They had formed in 2150, thirty-five years ago. The Knights of the Sky had launched a brutal attack, aimed at killing off all of the humans first, especially after the human war that had knocked out the world's power grid and sent them back into the Dark Ages. The leader, Lord Malnice, was always stressing that any other races must be captured and kept prisoner until after the humans were gone. Then they would kill the reptilians, then the mammalians, and so on. Everything had to go in a specific order for him, or he would fly into a rage and order his best warrior, a hawk hybrid called Penryck, to kill the offender.

85-21 hated the Knights and their supremest ideas, but he had no choice but to work for them. They had his name, which meant that they owned him. Whenever someone joined the Knights, or was taken prisoner, they were stripped of their name and given a number instead. Eventually, they would forget their name, and then they would never be able to escape the Knights, for they now had control over them.85-21 had a name once, but had long since forgotten it after he was taken from the remains of his destroyed village and forced to give his name to the Knights.

"The prey can never escape." 85-21 whispered to himself, looking down at the sword he had been hammering. Its blade was smooth and as flat as an arrow.

85-21 sighed and set the hammer down, lifting the sword and examining it closely. He gave it a few practice swings and jabs, making sure the balance was right. He practiced with the weapons he forged, and was quite proficient with all of them. He then hung the sword up on the wall until someone, probably one of the general's subordinates, came to retrieve it.

85-21 walked out of the room and stood on the indoor balcony that overlooked the two floors of forge, where his apprentices worked. One of them, a brown-haired, black-feathered man whom 85-21 dared to think of as "friend", grinned up at him.

"If you keep hurting yer self like that, mate, they'll name ya Stumpy, eh, master smith?" the apprentice called up at him, earning amused chuckles from the others.

"If you keep making bad jokes, 64-29, they'll name you Jester. The only name I want is my own, the one I came here with." 85-21 called back, scowling halfheartedly at him.

The master smith looked out at the burning fires of the furnaces, his eyes glinting in anger. Once you had worked for the Knights of the Sky for a long enough time, or had done something spectacular to help "the cause", you would be given a new name. It was considered an honor to be given a name, and the name was presented at a ceremony headed by Lord Malnice himself. Most who worked for the Knights thought of earning their name as a blessing, but to 85-21, it was a curse. Once you had been given your new name, there was no chance of ever escaping the Knights.

"Hey there, Stumpy, are you alright? Ya kinda spaced out on us there fer a moment." 64-29 called up at him, shaking him from his thoughts.

"Eh, yeah, just thinking. Lunch break everyone, take an hour!" 85-21 yelled, jumping off of the balcony.

He opened his massive wings and held them out, using them like a parachute to slow him down. He landed surprisingly gracefully and closed his wings. The other men smirked and shook their heads, mumbling roughly to each other.

"People here think you're a real show-off, 85-21." 64-29 said, clapping him on the back.

"Let them think what they want. Come on, I'm not going to miss lunch for your chatter." the smith replied, walking over to the large circle of stone benches on the first floor that the men used as their own miniature dining hall.

He had barely finished the sitting motion when their lunch arrived. It was carried in by several young women, all wearing white aprons over their clothes. Each carried a plate of food prepared by the young women, the cooks that worked in Cooky's kitchen. 85-21 was very surprised when Cooky herself walked in, smiling benevolently at the apprentices. She walked over to him and set a plate of fish, green beans, and bread in his lap.

Cooky was an older woman, perhaps in her mid-sixty's, with short, curly gray hair, warm brown eyes, and small white wings. She was one of the only members of the Knights that 85-21 genuinely liked, and he had always wondered why such a sweet woman would work for such a terrible group.

"Cooky, my dear, what a surprise! If I had known you were coming, I would have cleaned up and put on a shirt!" 85-21 greeted her warmly, leaning up to quickly kiss the grandmotherly figure on each cheek.

"Oh, 85-21, you little rascal! I'm sure my apprentices are glad that you didn't." Cooky replied, nodding over at the girls, who were stealing glances at him and giggling.

"Alas, my heart belongs only to you and your cooking, my fair lady." 85-21 said dramatically, setting his plate aside and standing to give a low, respectful bow.

The apprentices giggled at him, as did the blushing cook.

"Well then, you should come by the kitchen more often. I'm sure the ladies would enjoy a visit." Cooky said with a small smile, earning more tittering laughs from the young women.

"I'm glad 85-21 has his heart set on you, Cooky, or else none of us would have a chance with any of the girls around here." 64-29 joked, winking at a brown-winged girl near him.

"Indeed. In all seriousness, 85-21, you should be looking for a woman to settle down with." Cooky said with a slight nod at 64-29's joke.

"Ah, my lady, my love at the moment is the fires that I tend and the metal that I work with. Perhaps one day I shall find the right woman for me, but for now I am simply a humble servant to our Lord Malnice." 85-21 replied a little stiffly.

Cooky nodded, then turned to leave.

"Come, ladies, we have other meals to deliver. We will see you again soon, smiths." Cooky said sweetly before leading her cooks from the forge.

The men began to eat voraciously, talking happily to one another. 85-21 stared into one of the fires, letting his mind go completely blank. He watched the orange and red tongues of fire lick the stone walls of the furnace. Little dashes of green and blue danced within, moving to their own spastic rhythm. 85-21 leaned forward a little as an image began to form in the heart of the flames. He saw a shadowy figure wavering within the fire. It lifted a pair of large wings and seemed to be flying, beating its wispy wings against the scorching flames. Other shadowy figures appeared, and the first figure seemed to be swooping and kicking at them furiously. Each figure vanished as the first one kicked it. This was 85-21's strange, secret ability: this was firesight.

He had been able to see foggy images in the fire since he was young, but had never told anyone. He would gaze into the fire, sometimes for hours on end, to see if anything revealed itself to him. He saw events that took place in the past, present, or future, but never knew which he was seeing when he saw them. The most vivid image he had seen was one of a human hunched over, writhing as though it was in pain. The place where its shoulders were seemed to swell, and then huge wings burst from them. It had been a very unnerving sight.

"Hey, 85-21, stop spacing out like that. Seriously, are ya alright?" 64-29 asked, concerned.

85-21 tore his eyes away from the shadowy warrior in the fire and looked around. All of the apprentices were watching him quietly. He glanced back at the fire, but the image had vanished.

"Ah, yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking, that's all. Uhm, I'm going to take this upstairs...I have some work to finish." he said quickly, and he stood and carried his food hurriedly to his forge upstairs.

85-21 sighed and set his plate down, walking over to one of his windows and looking outside. The town, one of several ruled by the Knights, was built on a rolling grasslands. There was a forest to the west, and a wide river cut a path right through the center of town. Several winged figures walked or flew around outside, some carrying food, others carrying personal weapons. Most of the militia's weapons were kept in a large storage area near the forge, which only the generals, Lord Malnice, and 85-21 could enter unless a battle was upon them. 85-21 recognized one figure that was walking steadily toward the forge and groaned.

"Ughhh, General Kreeth. What does _she _want?"


	3. General Kreeth's Demand

**General Kreeth's Demand**

85-21 stood at the far end of the room, watching the general carefully. General Kreeth was a tall, thin woman in her mid-forty's with ratty black hair that stuck up at odd, unkempt angles. She had hazy yellow eyes that looked at him as though he were a simple human. She wore black pants and the dark blue uniform top of the Knights of the Sky, with the vibrant purple and red stripes of the general on her chest. She was a crow hybrid, with ugly black feathers that fell out often. The worst thing about the general, however, was her _stench_. She had a very light, but very foul odor about her, the stench of crow. 85-21 flinched in irritation as the general drummed her long, black-painted nails against one of his wooden tables.

"General Kreeth, what an unexpected surprise. To what do I owe this pleasure?" 85-21 said with false respect, bowing low and spreading his wings in a sign of respect shown to all of the high-ranking officials.

The foul woman seemed satisfied with the gesture, and smiled at him.

"I came to pick up General Ankh's sword, as a favor." she said in a sickly sweet tone, masking her true personality lamely.

85-21 had to struggle not to snort sarcastically. Kreeth never did anything unless she would benefit from it in some way. She was a cruel, malicious, and very manipulative person. To put it plainly, 85-21 despised her.

"How very kind of you, General. I finished hammering it out about an hour ago. Here it is." 85-21 said stiffly, pulling the sword off the wall and handing it to the general.

Kreeth took the sword from him and swung it around a few times, then nodded in satisfaction.

"Well done, blacksmith. I also have a request for you. Well, more of...a _demand_." the general stressed the last word dangerously.

85-21 bowed again, hiding a soft smirk. He had known she would _demand_ something of him at some point of this visit.

"Of course, General. What can I do for you?" 85-21 asked carefully.

"Fireclaws, smith. I want fireclaws." the general barked loudly, and the floors fell still and silent.

85-21 stared at her in shock. Fireclaws were extremely dangerous weapons, worn as weapons over the tips of the foot claws, made of fire-strengthened steel. Each had an infinitely burning coal inside it that made them glow bright red in heat. These weapons were cruelly lethal, burning and ripping the flesh at the same time. They were also very hard to make.

"General Kreeth, fireclaws are very dangerous. They can burn the wearer as well as the victim, and are bad for the talons." 85-21 said softly, his eyes wide in disgust at the idea.

"You forget your place, blacksmith. You _will _make the fireclaws, and they will be ready by this time in three days. Is that clear, 85-21?" the horrid crow snapped at him, her wings fluffing up in anger.

"_Crystal_." 85-21 hissed back, his own feathers standing up a little.

The general narrowed her dim yellow eyes at him, then snorted and turned on her heel.

"Good. I will be back to fetch them in three days." she said in her falsely sweet voice.

"I can hardly wait to see you again...General." 85-21 watched her leave, then growled and shook his head.

"Fireclaws! She wants fireclaws! That foul woman can kill enough with her sword, she just wants the deaths to be more painful! Bah!" he snarled, walking quickly over to the balcony that overlooked the other floors.

The apprentices stared up at him in stunned silence, having heard everything said. They watched him carefully as he leaned against the black steel rail and looked down into the fires.

"I have an assignment from General Kreeth, so you lot will be handling all of the other things for the next three days. This is a physically and...morally...demanding task. 64-29, make me some infinite-burning coals...eight of them." 85-21 said in a hollow voice.

The apprentices nodded and returned to work as their master continued staring down into the flames. Within he saw the dark warrior again, slashing at unknown enemies with its talons and flapping its wings aggressively. 85-21 groaned and looked away, his stomach churning in disgust at the task before him as he walked back into the forge. He sighed and opened one of the many wooden cabinets lining the walls of his forge. He pulled out a bucket of a heavy black metal, fire-hardened steel.

85-21 began his loathsome work, starting a fire in the massive furnace on the wall. He waited until the flames burned at the right temperature before tossing the steel into the flames.

"Now, to make a mold for the claws..." 85-21 froze.

In his anger at the horrid general's demand, he had forgotten to get her talon sizes.

"Damn, how am I supposed to make a mold that fits her right?" he growled to himself, running a hand through his messy black hair.

After a few minutes of thinking, 85-21 sighed and got out the molding plaster. He mixed it with water to loosen up the mud-like substance, then sat down at the table. The smith began to mold the gooey substance around his own talons until each was covered in the stuff. He leaned back into his chair at ate the meal Cooky had brought him, waiting for the plaster to dry. It took an hour of sitting on his tail feathers, but the plaster would resist the heat of the molten metal.

Once it had dried, 85-21 carefully pulled each mold from his talons. They were a soft brown color, the exact shape of each talon. 85-21 set them on the table and stretched, yawning widely.

"It'll take a full twenty-four hours for that steel to get soft enough to mold. I'm so tired." the weary young man grumbled and grabbed a short-sleeved black shirt, pulling it on. He rolled his shoulders until his massive wings slipped through the holes cut into the tight shirt's shoulders.

"Alright, lads, finish what you are working on, then pack up and get out. 52-97, leave last and lock the door behind you. I'll see all of you early tomorrow." 85-21 called out the door, and the apprentices laughed and clapped happily at the chance to go home early.

They packed up quickly and scrambled to leave, none of them wanting to dwell on the events of that day. They knew how much 85-21 disliked working for the Knights, but also knew that he was trapped by his number. As long has he couldn't remember his old name, he couldn't fight the Knights, no matter how much he despised them.

85-21 put away his forging tools and made sure that the fire would burn hot through the night before turning off the light and closing the door. He walked along the balcony and past the stairs to the other room, his bedroom. It was a small and simple room, with only a couple of bookshelves, a closet, and his bed inside.

85-21 stripped and walked into the bathroom connected to his room by a door and took a shower, dumping buckets of cold water over himself from a large basin in the corner. He bathed quickly, shivering from the cold, then dried off and pulled on a pair of boxers and some black sweatpants. With a tired sigh, the frustrated blacksmith collapsed onto his bed.

The sun was just beginning to set, and 85-21 watched its slow progress down toward the horizon thoughtfully. This was how he spent just about every evening, watching that great ball of fire lie down and give the moon her time of glory. He spent this time desperately trying to remember his name, for he wanted nothing more than to break the strange spell the Knights of the Sky had on him. He longed hungrily for his name, his freedom.

"Did it start with a T? Thomas? Tim? Or maybe an R, like Ryan? No, that doesn't sound right at all. Maybe it's a J, or an S, or even an E? Ugh, it could be _anything_." 85-21 growled and rolled over, his back to the sinking sun.

"I'm to tired for this right now. It won't work, anyway..." were his last words before sinking into a tormented sleep.


	4. The Prisoner

**The Prisoner**

85-21 sighed as he walked calmly back toward the forge, a bundle of swords wrapped in leather slung over his shoulder. He wore his usual attire, a pair of jeans and no shirt, and made a distinct effort to avoid making eye contact with anyone on his way back. He shifted the bundle of bent and broken weapons on his shoulder a bit, grumbling as one irritated his skin through the leather.

The weapons were the result of General Kreeth's latest battle, although from hearing her crow about it, it had been more of a slaughter than anything. Using the fireclaws forged for her two weeks earlier, the ruthless general had led her squadron into battle against the small human town of Aiñor. The humans could not fight them off, and the bloodbath that followed lasted only a day. They had returned covered in blood, lugging only a few injured soldiers, some bent and broken swords, and a long line of hybrid prisoners, mostly mammalians.

85-21 soon arrived at the forge and put the leather bundle on a table on the first floor, unwrapping it to get a look at the swords within.

"Hmmm, most of these are easy repairs, though I'll need to reforge the blade on this one." he said softly, picking up an empty hilt and its cracked steel blade.

"Alright, I'm going to go work on fixing this one. You lot repair the rest. General Kreeth wants it done in a week, an easy task. Now, hop to it!" the smith barked, turning and walking up the stairs.

His apprentices hurried to do as he had asked, grabbing swords and beginning their work. 52-97 and 27-63 worked together to repair the blade of a particularly bent sword, hammering it back into its usual shape.

"Hey, 27-63, do you think 85-21 is okay? Ever since he made those fireclaws for General Kreeth, he's been more gloomy than he usually is." 52-97 asked as quietly as the ringing of hammers in the forge would allow.

"You and I both know he only works for the Knights because he has to, and he hates General Kreeth. I agree on that score, she stinks-literally. And, making those fireclaws was really morally demanding on him, since he despises the Knights so much. And he hates to see others suffer, even if they are just humans." 27-63 replied gravely.

"Yeah, he's a decent fellow, though I wish he'd support the Knights like we do."

"Meh, as long as he stays 85-21, it doesn't matter what he thinks. He'll keep making weapons until the day he breathes his last, all for the Knights of the Sky. So, as long as his old name continues to elude him, he's stuck here." The conversation ended, and both returned to their work.

The apprentices worked in silence, until they were rudely interrupted. A loud noise, the rough sound of a throat being cleared, broke the rhythmic symphony of the busy forge. The apprentices all stopped in their work and looked up to see a man standing in the doorway, a young woman with her wrists and ankles bound in chains behind him.

The man was of medium height, and was somewhat chubby, with skin left almost white by the lack of sunlight. He wore a simple gray uniform, and had a very small, stunted set of crumpling tail feathers. His wings were gone, torn off in a battle from long ago, leaving only stumps behind. The middle-aged man had hazy gray eyes, greasy gray feathers, and a thin patch of dirty blonde hair atop his egg-shaped head. He held a chain in one of his gnarled hands, which was connected to the binds of the young woman. He was Armiso, the prison warden for the Knights of the Sky.

The apprentices tensed when they got a good look at the prisoner behind Armiso- she wasn't an avian. She was mammalian, with the black ears and long, thin tail of a jackal. She was somewhat short, with eyes the blue-gray color of a boiling ocean. She was thin, and looked small and frail in comparison with the hulking man in front of her. She had long dark-brown hair, and her pointy ears stuck up and out from atop her head. She wore a pair of tattered blue jeans and a light blue shirt, and she glanced around nervously at the apprentices who glared and snarled at her.

"Where is the master smith?" Armiso grumbled in his gravelly voice.

"I'm up here, you old buzzard! What do you want?"

They looked up to see 85-21 leaning over the balcony, his massive wings held out threateningly, his feathers puffed up in rage. His green eyes glinted, hard and cold as steel, and he looked absolutely fierce. He hated Armiso, and was not required to hide it, since they were of the same social order within the group.

"I have an important matter to discuss with you, concerning _this_." Armiso jerked the chain violently, and the girl whimpered in pain and bared her sharp teeth at him, her stormy eyes full of loathing.

85-21 gave her a pitying look, then motioned for Armiso to lead her upstairs. He glared down at the apprentices.

"Who told you to take a break?" he snapped, and they flinched at the sheer anger in his tone and rushed to get back to work.

85-21 sighed and shook his head, then turned and walked into his forge, waiting on the warden and his charge to enter. They entered after a few moments, and Armiso shoved the girl toward him.

"A present from General Kreeth for a job well done with the fireclaws. You can use her to fetch things, take care of little things, or as just a pretty pet to look at." he taunted.

"A woman is barely better than useless in the forge. Take her to Cooky, she'll find some use for her." 85-21 growled, trying desperately to hold his temper.

"General Kreeth said you might not want her, so she told me that it was an order. Also, she wanted me to deliver a message. She was so pleased with your fireclaws's performance, she begged Lord Malnice to hold a naming ceremony for you." Armiso grinned when he saw the smith go tense:everyone knew how he longed for his freedom.

"A-and...?" 85-21 stammered lowly, his face going pale.

"Your naming ceremony is in exactly one week. Congratulations." Armiso grinned smugly as 85-21's eyes widened, and he bent and undid the girl's binds before walking down the stairs, whistling a gleeful tune.

85-21 sat down in a chair and hung his head, running his hands through his hair.

"The prey truly can never escape, it seems." he whispered sadly, trembling in anger and fear.

"S-sir?" the young woman asked, rubbing her wrists where the binds had rubbed the skin raw.

85-21 looked up and noticed her pain, standing immediately.

"Sit down and wait here. I'll be right back." he said softly, and walked stiffly from the room.

He returned a few minutes later with a couple of straps of leather soaked in some sort of sweet-smelling liquid. He smiled softly at the scared young woman and walked over to her, tying one strap around each wrist. The leather burned for a moment, then relief spread through her.

"That's sweet moss juice, it helps soothe and heal wounds. So, what's your name?" he asked her, sitting down in the chair across from her.

"Uhm, my number is 52-87." the girl answered uncertainly, looking at him curiously.

"Well, that's all well and good, but I didn't ask for your number. I asked for your _name_."

"My name is Kitsune Nyght."

85-21 nodded, a soft smile on his lips, and he whispered to her in case somehow, someone was listening to them.

"That's a beautiful name. Don't you dare let them take it from you. Don't you forget that name, Kitsune, or you'll be trapped in here like I am." he said urgently.

"You don't want to work for the Knights?" Kitsune asked in surprise: all of the avians she had met during her two weeks as a prisoner practically worshiped the Knights, including the warriors who had taken her from the bloodbath at Aiñor.

"No, I hate the things that they are doing. I hate their supremest ideas, their pompous generals, their base cruelty! I hate how they treat the other races! I mean, are we all that different? I don't think so, but everyone here hates anyone without wings. I am sorry for what I have done, but I can never escape this dark _cult_ now. In a week I shall be named, and all hope of ever remembering my old name will vanish, along with my hope for any good left in this bitter world." 85-21 snarled and slammed his fist on the table in anger, tears leaking sneakily from his eyes.

Kitsune watched him carefully, then stood timidly and walked over to him. She dug in her pocket and pulled something silver and shiny from it. It was a beautiful necklace, with an ancient Egyptian style ibis's head pendant hanging from it. She carefully fastened the necklace around his neck and smiled softly at him.

"My mother gave that to me before she perished in the battle. She gave me this one when I was little. She said that they had some kind of strange power, but that may have been just her superstitions." she dug another similar one out from under her shirt, with a jackal's head instead of the birds.

"I've seen these strange carvings in old Egyptian temples before. What are they?" 85-21 asked softly, examining the gift in wonder.

"The one you have is Thoth, the god of knowledge. He will give you the knowledge to discover your true name. Mine is Anubis, the god of death and mummification. He gives me the strength to carry on, even in the face of despair. I think you need Thoth's help more than I do. I hope you discover your name before this ceremony of yours, kind Mr. Smith." Kitsune whispered back solemnly.

85-21 stared at it for a moment, then looked up at her with a smile.

"Thank you, Kitsune. I will have to refer to you as 52-87 in public, but you will forever be Kit to me. Now, there is a spare bedroom and bathroom on the second floor, away from all of the furnaces. When the apprentices leave, you can stay there. For now, stay here. The men downstairs are not nearly so kind as I. And until I discover my true name, I am 85-21 to you. Okay?" he spoke in a grateful tone full of new hope.

"Of course."

85-21 nodded, then stood and walked out onto the balcony. He puffed up his feathers and glared down at the apprentices, who froze in their work when they noticed him.

"Listen up, and heed my word, for I'll have your wings plucked plumb naked if you step a single toe out of line on this! Are you listening?" he roared, his voice loud and booming.

The apprentices seemed to shrink in fear, having never seen the smith so angry before. They nodded quickly, putting their tools down so as not to make any noises.

"The girl brought to me is my assistant, 52-87. I will not tolerate any mistreatment of her in any way, and I mean _any way_. That means no physical, emotional, or mental abuse or intimidation of any sort. Her species does not matter here. Got it?" he growled, and they nodded at him in earnest.

"Good. Now, finish what you were doing and _get out_." he hissed, and they jumped to accomplish the task.

After about thirty minutes, the forge was empty save for the smith and his new assistant. 85-21 showed her to her room, then went upstairs to his own room. He sighed and flopped onto his bed, not even bothering to change into more comfortable clothes. He sighed and looked out the window at the setting sun, watching it silently as it sank into nothingness. He yawned widely and rolled over, allowing sleep to pull him into its clutches.


	5. In Which A Plan Is Made

**In Which a Plan is Made**

Hammering and ringing echoed loudly from the forge, and Kitsune laid her sensitive jackal's ears flat against her head. She had been 85-21's "assistant" for six days, though the only thing she could assist him with was trying to remember his name. They would spend any free time the smith had from his work making long lists of names starting with certain letters and reading them, hoping that one of them would be his. Unfortunately, none of the names rang a bell with him, so they hadn't made very much progress. As the days had passed, the smith had grown more and more anxious as his Naming Ceremony approached. Now, with the ceremony taking place at noon the next day, he was a nervous wreck.

85-21 paced back and forth across the wooden floor, chewing on his bottom lip thoughtfully. He would pause every once in a while and whisper a string of curses under his breath, then shake his head and continue his pacing. He twitched with every quick step he took, the sound of his own talons striking the wooden floor annoying him to no end.

"85-21, pacing around like an expectant father isn't going to help you remember your name. Calm down." Kitsune said soothingly, unable to bear seeing him so anxious.

"Calm down? Calm down! _How_ do you expect me to calm down? My Naming Ceremony is tomorrow, and I'm no closer to finding my name than I've ever been!" 85-21 yowled in frustration, kicking a nearby chair in anger.

Kitsune rolled her eyes at him as he growled in pain, having stubbed one of his toes on the chair. She picked the chair up, then shoved 85-21 toward it.

"Please, stop yelling or one of your minions will hear you. It's time for you to send them home. Try to go to bed, and maybe you will have better luck than pacing ruts in the floor here will bring you." she sighed and walked to the door, glancing back at him for a moment before leaving him alone in the forge.

85-21 stared at the place where she had been, his mind racing desperately to find that vital piece of his identity. After a few minutes, he stood and walked out onto the inner balcony.

"Alright guys, scram. Remember, no work tomorrow due to my...my naming." he looked away quickly, trying to regain his composure as a shiver of revulsion wormed down his spine. His effort failed, and he retreated hurriedly into his room before anyone could question his actions.

85-21 slammed his door behind him, bitter tears stinging his eyes. He had suffered a lot of grief and pain at the hands of the Knights, but this was too much. The moment his new name slipped past Lord Malnice's lips, he would lose the tiny scrap of identity he had been safeguarding for so long. He would have nothing of his previous self left. He would become like Kreeth and Armiso, another drone of the terrible institution.

"No! I can't let that happen! I have to remember!" he snapped, tearing the blinds off of his window in frustration.

He sighed and took a quick bath, then sat on his bed and watched the sun set. He tried to clear his mind and just watch the setting sun, hoping that the precious information he sought would come to him. He sat motionless for two hours, long after the moon had risen into the height of her flight in the cloudy night sky. With a grunt, he finally rose to his feet and was about to get into bed, but an idea struck him. He stood, hovering over the bed, as he considered it.

"I don't see any harm in it, I suppose. It's all I have left." 85-21 grumbled to himself, leaving his room and walking into the forge across the hall.

He walked to the small fireplace opposite the furnace and bent, picking up a couple of dried logs and dropping them into the grate. He pulled a match from a little box on the table and struck it quickly, watching the little orange flame dance atop its perch for a moment. He smiled almost cruelly and lit the logs, shaking the match out and tossing the half-burnt stick into the flames. The fire brought a strangely empty warmth to the room, seeming to taunt his misery with its joyful dance.

85-21 pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the fire, staring deep into the heart of the seemingly living beast before him. He tried to keep his mind blank, shaking his head violently whenever thoughts of the ceremony invaded his mind. He grew tired, and was soon struggling to stay awake. He was just beginning to nod off, slumping forward in his seat, when a movement within the flames roused his attention.

An image appeared, an outline in bright blue flame. It looked like a bird's head, with regal eyes of green flame and a long, thin beak. It was an ibis, similar to the pendant on the necklace Kitsune had given him six days before. The bird seemed to stare right through him, opening and closing its beak slowly. The image was unlike anything 85-21 had ever seen, brighter and much more persistent. It seemed to be trying to communicate something to him, but no sound reached his ears except the crackling and popping of the fire.

"What is it? What are you trying to tell me?" he asked desperately, leaning forward in anticipation.

The ibis vanished, and letters in hot white flames flickered where it had been a moment before. 85-21 read them quietly to himself in awe.

"Prepare for a journey perilous and long, to the city where lightning's power still rules." he whispered, watching as the letters faded into the flames.

85-21 leaned back, confused.

"The city where lightning's power still rules? Did it mean that there is a city where there's still power? How is that possible, unless someone restored the power grid in that area? A journey perilous and long..." he sighed and ruffled his hair, thinking intently on what the image had shown him.

85-21 froze, a thought occurring to him. He stood abruptly and walked out of the room, returning with a large leather backpack. He crammed some blankets, four water canteens, a coil of rope, a map, and some daggers into the bag. He grabbed one of his best swords and wrapped the blade in a protective layer of thick leather and stuck it into the bag as well. He was about to zip the bag up when his eyes fell on the fireclaws.

He stared thoughtfully at the talon-shaped weapons, which glowed a light red at the tips from the coals within. They had caused so much pain, though they had only existed for a short amount of time. He couldn't just leave them here for Kreeth to use again. He grabbed them carefully and wrapped them in several layers of leather, and grabbed a pair of unfired claws as well.

85-21 walked back into his room and put the backpack on the floor, looking out at the moon quietly. He would have to tell Kitsune of his plan in the morning, before the Naming Ceremony began. He refused to leave her behind. If his plan succeeded and he left her, Kreeth would probably kill her. 85-21 sighed softly and shook his head with a small, sarcastic chuckle.

"I sure hope I know what I'm doing."


	6. The Naming Ceremony

**The Naming Ceremony**

"85-21, are you _sure_ about this? You don't even remember your name, how are we going to escape from the Knights?" Kitsune asked him, confused.

They were walking to the giant amphitheater in the center of town, where 85-21's Naming Ceremony was to be. Kitsune carried the bag 85-21 had packed on her back, ignoring the harsh glares the avians around her shot at her. 85-21 wore a pair of dark jeans and a black shirt, and Kitsune wore jeans and a green shirt. More clothes had been packed haphazardly into the backpack.

"I'll figure it out." 85-21 looked at her reassuringly, masking his own anxiety.

"Do you at least have a weapon on you? You gave me this dagger, but I don't see one strapped to your belt."

"I have steel claws on my talons, I don't need a dagger. All you have are those little claws on your fingers, which won't help you very much in a fight. My talons will, especially with a layer of steel over them."

They soon approached the amphitheater, and Kitsune stopped and gasped at its terrible magnificence. It was a massive circular structure, its gleaming walls made of steel with gold decorations shaped like different species of birds. The top of the grand building was open to the sky, and voices could he heard coming from inside.

"Wow, this place...it's massive! I never thought something so beautiful could exist in a place like this. Eh, I mean..." she blushed, clearly embarrassed.

85-21 laughed and led her toward the entrance to the amphitheater.

"No, it's fine. You wouldn't expect to see a grand structure like this in the heart of so much evil." he said, stopping in front of a burly, brown-winged guard at the entrance.

"Congratulations on your new name, 85-21. Go on i-wait a minute. What's _this _doing here?" the guard narrowed his eyes and poked Kitsune roughly with the hilt of the sword he carried.

85-21 fluffed up his feathers protectively and narrowed his eyes a little.

"52-87 here is my assistant. I had her come to carry this bag, gifts for Lord Malnice." he said confidently, watching the guard carefully.

"I'm not supposed to let vermin like her in..." the guard started, looking uncertain.

"Hey, it's my Naming Ceremony, I can't carry this bag onto the stage. Do me this favor, alright? It might earn you a, heh, reward of sorts." 85-21 slipped a $20 bill into the guard's hand.

The guard smirked and moved aside, letting 85-21 and Kitsune pass without further complaint.

"I guess money is a language understood by all races, then." Kitsune mumbled darkly.

"Don't complain, Kit. It saved our sorry hides. They would have turned you into a pleasant throw rug." 85-21 grinned at her from over his shoulder, chuckling at her sour expression.

"And you into a fluffy feather boa." the girl shot back, rolling her eyes at the smith's laughter.

They passed into the interior space of the amphitheater, and 85-21 pointed to a spot somewhat obstructed from view by the corner of the large hardwood stage.

"Go stand back there, and make sure no one sees you. I'll come and get you when things get messy, alright?" he whispered softly into Kitsune's ear.

"Alright. Be careful, okay?" she responded, giving him a worried look.

"Of course, my lady." the smith joked back, jogging over to the corner of the stage.

The stage was circular, raised off the ground by cement block supports, and was so high that 85-21 could easily rest his chin on the floor. Several chairs were set up on the stage, including a massive golden throne. Most of the chair's occupants were already seated, including General Kreeth. She beamed when she saw him and walked over.

"Hey there, 85-21. Excited to get your new name?" the foul woman asked, backing up so he could hop up next to her, using his wings to power his jump.

"If by _excited_ you mean that I'd rather run my most private of areas through a set of clock gears, then yes. Very excited indeed." 85-21 replied, folding his wings behind him.

The general laughed, thinking his comment was a joke, and returned to her seat. 85-21 rolled his eyes and sat down in his chair, which was directly in front of the gold throne and faced the audience. He sat quietly, growing more and more anxious as noon approached. The seats in the amphitheater filled quickly; it looked like the whole town was present. 85-21 began to doze, growing bored of waiting. The sound of heavy footsteps followed by the sweeping silence of the crowd shook him from his light nap.

A man stood before the throne, and an impressive looking man at that. He was an older man, with hair as white at snow and a thin mustache. His eyes were gray, and reminded 85-21 faintly of the eyes of a rabid dog, cold and soulless. He wore black pants and a bright gold vest over a black, full-sleeved tunic. A small crown of gold rested perfectly atop his head. He had massive white wings with random spots of black all over them; he was a Spotted Owl hybrid. His tail feathers were almost ridiculously long, and he had somehow found a way to make the ends curl up so they wouldn't touch the ground. He looked very stiff and regal, but his appearance barely masked the discord inside.

"Welcome, fellow Knights of the Sky, to yet another glorious Naming Ceremony!" Lord Malnice cried out in a loud, booming voice.

The crowd watched him in silence, having been to many of these ceremonies before and knowing how angry Lord Malnice became if things were not done in an orderly fashion. Lord Malnice cleared his throat and sat down in his throne, staring out over the crowd. His eyes then fell to rest on 85-21 for a moment, and he gave him a smirk so quickly that the smith doubted it had been there at all. His gaze then returned to the crowd.

"Yes, welcome. We are here today to give a name to our beloved master blacksmith, 85-21. General Kreeth, if you would please stand and state the reason that you petitioned me to bestow a name upon our brother here." Lord Malnice nodded, and exactly two seconds after he finished speaking-it had to be so, or he would fly into a rage-General Kreeth stood up proudly.

"Yes, my lord. I visited 85-21 in his forge a month ago, and asked him to make me a set of fireclaws so that I could more efficiently lead my squadron into battle. These fireclaws led to the quick and easy capture of the town on Aiñor, the purging of all of the humans there, and the capture of many prisoners of war. I felt that 85-21 had earned a name for himself." general Kreeth finished, waited four seconds, and sat down.

"Thank you, General. Now, a name has been chosen by myself for our young blacksmith. A name of power and ferocity, that will pass through no man's lips without chilling him to the very marrow first." Lord Malnice stood and walked slowly to stand in front of 85-21.

85-21 sat up confidently, returning Lord Malnice's steely gaze with one of his own. He stared hard into the cruel man's eyes, searching for the demon that surely dwelt within. Instead, he saw a quick flash of a strange emotion-was that _fear_ in the madman's eyes?- then a memory long forgotten exploded into his thoughts. It was a simple memory, a single sound, but it was the sound he had been waiting so long for; the ghost of a name.

Lord Malnice watched him for a moment, then stood tall and walked behind his chair, standing above him like an angry guard dog.

"Are you ready for your name, 85-21?" he boomed, holding his arms out as the crowd cheered.

"Yes, my lord." 85-21 replied, his heart racing, all traces of nervousness erased by a new feeling of exhilarating excitement.

"Your new name is Stry-"

"Verte."


	7. A Silence Broken

**A Silence Broken**

The crowd sat in silence, staring at the stage in shock.

"_What did you just say, boy?_" Lord Malnice hissed, his eyes wide and bulging.

"I said my name is Verte. That's the name my parents gave to me _seven years before you sent them to their deaths._ But now I'm free, I've rediscovered my name, and you don't have any control over me!" Verte yelled and threw his wings open, buffeting Lord Malnice hard in the chest.

Lord Malnice was knocked backwards, and he slammed into the throne, collapsing to the floor. The generals jumped to their feet and ran over to him, and the crowd started yelling and chanting in a confused uproar. Verte used the chaos to his advantage and jumped off of the stage, running to where Kitsune was hiding. Without a word he picked her up and threw her onto his back, opening his wings and rocketing into the sky.

"AIIIEEEEEEE!" Kitsune screamed loudly, clinging to Verte's back for dear life and doing her best not to look down.

"Please don't scream in my ear, Kit, I need to be able to hear." Verte yelled over his shoulder at her, flying as fast as his wings would carry him away from the amphitheater.

"Sorry, but I'm terrified of heights."

"That's something you'll have to get over, because we're going to be doing a lot of flying."

"Not if _they _catch us, we won't!"

Verte looked over his shoulder and felt his heart sink to his toes at what he saw. At least two dozen avian soldiers were flying furiously after them, flashing swords and waving bows angrily. The ones with the bows began to shoot arrows at them, and he growled as the wooden shafts whizzed past him.

"Damn, I didn't think of them sending people after us." he hissed, looking around for some way to escape.

"I thought you said you knew what you were doing!" Kitsune yelped, her eyes widening in fear.

"Eh, I didn't expect this to actually work. Hold on, I'm going to have to do some evasive maneuvers."

"Wait, what do you mean by TTHHHHHHAAAAAAATTTTTT!" the sentence became a shrill cry of fear when Verte did a sharp nose dive.

"85-21, you idiot, we're going to crash!" Kitsune cried desperately, burying her face in the back of his shirt.

"My name isn't 85-21, it's Verte! And no we won't. Just hold on!" Verte yelled back, squinting down at the ground as they quickly approached it.

Verte smirked to himself as he heard the avians behind him pursuing them. At the last moment, he opened his wings and stopped mid-air, then rocketed back into the sky. Some of the avians managed to pull away, but most of them were not so lucky. They smashed into the ground with a combination of strangled shouts, dense thuds, and sickening crunching sounds. Verte barked a laugh and continued flying, headed toward the nearby forest of Cǣrbanog, a large, thick blanket of trees that ran for miles.

"How many are still on our tail?" Verte yelled, focusing on dodging arrows that flew by him.

"Six." Kitsune replied, looking back at them.

Verte nodded, looking around for some way to shake them. He knew they wouldn't fall for the nose-dive trick again after seeing where it got their comrades. All he could see for miles was the carpet of giant green trees, which didn't help him much. He was no better at forest flying than anyone else.

Suddenly, a sharp, repetitive pain in his right wing shattered his train of thought. He hissed in pain and looked back to see several arrows stuck in his wing. Blood dripped and was blown back from the tiny wounds.

"Well, that doesn't feel good. Kitsune, I'm afraid that if we don't think of some way to shake them, we'll become a throw rug and feather boa for sure." he growled at her, trying to avoid taking more hits.

Kitsune didn't respond, looking around thoughtfully. She noticed an area of the forest where the trees were darker, and saw several pairs of curious green eyes watching them. A flash of recognition went off in her mind; those bright green eyes were very familiar. She grinned and leaned up to Verte's ear.

"See those dark trees over there? A bunch of bat hybrids are there, old friends of mine who I thought died in the attack of Aiñor. Fly over there, maybe they'll help us." she whispered.

Verte looked over at the trees, then nodded and arced over toward them. He grimaced at the pain in his wing, trying to ignore it as he powered desperately toward the cluster of dark trees. The green eyes narrowed at him, and hissing could be heard coming from the trees. Kitsune leaned to the left, nearly throwing Verte off balance, and waved at them.

"Heeeeyyy! We could use some help, could you lend us a hand?" she yelled at them, ducking just in time to avoid taking an arrow in the back of her head.

The hissing turned to confused chirping, then the trees seemed to explode as the hybrids flew up to answer her call. They varied in height, weight, and appearance, but all had the same large brown ears, glowing green eyes, and leathery brown wings. They screeched and flew hard at the avians chasing Kitsune and Verte, baring needle-like teeth and swinging heavy clubs and hand made spears. The avians scattered, yelling out in surprise as the bats fell upon them. They outnumbered them greatly, surrounding them and beating them with the clubs, then stabbing with their spears. Soon, only one of the avians escaped, racing back toward the Knights camp hurriedly. The bats jeered at him as he fled, some pulling arrows out of their wings with a wince of pain.

One of them, a young woman looking to be close to Kitsune's age, flew over to where Verte and Kitsune hung in mid-air, watching the avian vanish into the sky. She was rather short, with wavy blonde hair and sun-burned pink patches on her fair white skin. She wore a tattered pair of light brown shorts and a hot pink shirt.

"Kitsune, what is going on? We thought you had died!" she asked in a soft, sweet voice.

"I thought the same of all of you, but I'll have to explain after we land. Verte is hurt, I need to patch his wounds." Kitsune smiled softly at her friends, then nudged Verte gently.

Verte nodded and flew down slowly, opening his wings carefully to keep from meeting the same grisly fate of the avian warriors. He landed lightly, and Kitsune immediately climbed off of his back, happy to have her feet planted firmly on the ground again. Verte smiled softly at her, then sighed and sat down, leaning against a huge tree. He reached back to yank an arrow from his wing, but Kitsune grabbed his wrist.

"No, let me get them for you. You just rest, I'll go get something to stop the bleeding and help heal them. Borea, is there a stream nearby? I need to gather some sweet moss." Kitsune turned to look back at the blonde hybrid who had landed behind her.

"Yes, I was going to go pick some for the others wounds as well. Follow me." Borea started walking away, and Kitsune gave Verte a quick nod before following her.

The other hybrids landed and gathered around Verte, who shifted uncomfortably under their hard glares.

"Why are you here, avian? Why is Kitsune with you?" one of them, a rather large man with messy light brown hair asked in a burly tone, his green eyes staring hard at him.

"I remembered my name, I'm free from those horrible Knights. I saved Kitsune, too. That's why she's with me." Verte answered, returning the man's hard glare with an icy look of his own.

"I don't like the look of him any more than you do, Lenox. He looks like a spy to me. Probably using Kitsune to win our trust, has her under a spell of some sort." a voice said, and the others parted to let another man through.

He was tall and lean, with skin the color of deep mahogany and a head of messy black hair that fell to his shoulders. He wasn't a bat hybrid, but a raccoon instead, with bright brown eyes, large black raccoons ears, and a long black and brown striped tail. He carried a huge brown bow in one black-gloved hand, and had a brown leather quiver strung across his back. He wore a pair of black pants, a purple tank-top, and a purple cap atop his unruly head of hair.

"Spell? As in magic? There's no such thing!" Verte said in surprise, watching the young man walk over to him.

"Of course there is! Why do you think stealing a person's name makes them your slave? Your Lord Malnice figured that out over thirty-five years ago, and put it to use, didn't he, pigeon?" the raccoon man sneered at him, grinning to expose fiercely sharp teeth.

"I hate Malnice and the Knights just as much as you do. I'm not your enemy!"

The raccoon man bent over him and looked him over carefully, then stood and turned away from him.

"That's funny, because you sure as hell _look_ like one. So, pigeon, what kind of spell have you put Kit under, eh? What have you done to her?" he growled and whirled around on his heel, pointing an accusatory finger at him.

"I've done no such thing. Kitsune helped me figure out my name, I owe her everything for helping me get my freedom back." Verte growled back, his feathers puffing up a little.

"Whatever, pigeon. I don't trust you. After all that your ilk have done to us, how can you expect us to trust you? The only reason you're alive right now is because you had Kitsune with you. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't hesitate to kill you right now."

"I'm not here to fight you. We'll leave as soon as we can, and you won't have to deal with me anymore."

"We? You think I'm going to let you take Kit with you to where ever you're going? You must be just as crazy as Malnice!"

Verte snapped, unable to contain his anger any longer. He jumped to his feet and grabbed the raccoon man by the throat, shoving him against the tree.

"Don't compare me to Malnice. _Ever_. Got it, stripey?" Verte growled angrily.

"Don't try to intimidate me, I'm not scared of you." he hissed back, swinging his leg and kicking Verte hard in the side.

Verte grunted and dropped him, and he immediately shoved him to the ground and pulled a dagger from under his loose tank-top. He knelt over Verte with a grin and held the blade to his throat, glaring at him victoriously.

"Say goodnight, bird." he whispered.

"Torin, get off of him right now!"

The group turned to see Kitsune and Borea running toward them, each carrying a bundle of vibrant green moss in their arms. Torin shot Verte a harsh glare before standing up, putting his knife back in the holster strapped to his waist. Verte sat up and returned the glare, leaning back against the tree as Kitsune knelt down next to him.

"Torin, I'm glad to see you alive, but what the heck were you doing?" she asked angrily, looking up at the startled man.

"Don't look at me like that, he started it." he said defensively. Kitsune turned to give Verte a quizzical look.

"He provoked me." Verte explained lamely, shrugging.

Kitsune sighed and pulled his right wing open, ignoring his flinches of pain as she carefully began pulling the arrows out.

"Torin, Verte saved me from the Knights, and he hated having to work for them. He's been struggling to remember his name for ages to get away, and now we're free. He's my friend, and I forbid you from hurting him. And Verte, control your anger. You're going to be questioned and provoked where ever we go, so you had best learn to hold yourself back." she explained quietly, concentrating on her work.

Both men stared hard at one another, then nodded.

"Fine, but I don't like it. So, where are you two going?" Torin sat down a few feet away from them, and the other hybrids sat as Borea began to put moss on their wounds.

"I've heard a rumor of a city somewhere where the power grid has been restored. Heading there is our first objective. From there, I don't really know. All I know is that now that I'm free, I have to find a way to stop the Knights of the Sky. I have to find a way to shatter whatever weird power Malnice has over the Knights, then destroy the organization." Verte said, wincing as Kitsune put moss on his wounds.

"I've heard of that city, but it's just a rumor. It's called the City of Many Truths, or something like that." Borea said softly, sitting down next to Kitsune.

"Does anyone know where it's supposed to be?" Verte asked slowly, giving them a sheepish smile.

"You want us to go there, but don't even know where it's supposed to be? Verte, I thought you knew what you were doing!" Kitsune sighed and shook her head, and some of the other hybrids laughed.

"It's supposed to be near the sea, over to the east. If you travel through this forest, and go through the Cave of Mazes, it's rumored to be a few days walk from the cave's exit. But it's really tough to get through the caves, because a bunch of reptilian hybrids who don't take kindly to travelers live there." Torin answered, pulling blades of grass from the ground absentmindedly.

"Reptilians, eh? Well then, we'll have to be extra careful. We'll leave tomorrow morning, then. I'm sure those warriors aren't the last we're going to hear from the Knights." Kitsune said firmly.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Thank you all for your help." Verte turned to look at each of them, his eyes locking with Torin's for a quick moment.

"I'm going with you." Torin said suddenly, looking firmly at them.

"We're going to be doing a lot of flying, and I can't carry both of you." Verte said in mild surprise.

"I don't need you to, nor would I let you. I don't trust you alone with Kitsune."

"How do you expect to keep up?"

Torin smirked and stood up, walking over to a different tree. He began climbing up it, moving rather quickly. He vanished into the thick green leaves, and returned a few minutes later with a strange metal contraption strapped to his back. It was made of thin steel, with several black feathers attached to it; it was a metal pair of wings.

"Torin, you can't expect that to work." Kitsune groaned, shaking her head at his foolishness.

"Not only do I expect them to work. I know that they work. Everyone else here knows they work, because I use them for hunting all of the time." Torin retorted smugly.

"_How?_"

"Oh, it's simple, really. I just developed this technology that connects the wings to my nervous system like the wings on an actual avian. That way, I can control them just as well as the pigeon here can."

Kitsune rolled her eyes at him and grinned.

"And you said it was simple. Torin, you're a mad genius, you know that?" she asked with a grin.

He beamed back at her and rustled his metal wings a bit.

"You know it. So, I'm going." he replied, and both Kitsune and Verte nodded.

"I'm going, too!"

Everyone turned to look at Borea, who blushed a little.

"I can fly by myself, and I know plants really well. I can help you guys. So, can I come with you?" Borea said softly, rubbing her arm awkwardly.

"Borea, of course you can come with us." Kitsune said with a smile, and the girl smiled back at her happily.

Verte sighed and leaned back, smiling and closing his eyes.

"Well, then, you'll need to pack your own stuff. We leave first thing tomorrow morning."


	8. The Hounds

**The Hounds**

Lord Malnice growled, sitting on his throne inside the great stone palace. It was the largest building in the camp, made of large concrete blocks with high stained-glass windows. The building was built in an old Gothic style, with high archways and bird-shaped gargoyles above the wooden doors that permitted entrance to the grand palace. Lord Malnice sat in silence and waited, staring angrily at a portrait of himself hanging on the opposite wall.

"Ah, how you torment me, sitting so stoically, immune to all of this chaos. I hate chaos. Everything has to be orderly, so it is easier to manage. Curse 85-21 for causing all of this mess." he murmured to the portrait, then turned to look out of one of the massive glass windows.

The sky outside was dark and cloudy, and the wind could be heard howling mournfully. Lord Malnice stared out at the dismal sky, his thoughts racing. No one had ever rebelled against the Knights of the Sky before, and he wasn't quite sure how to quiet the rumors that were sure to spread.

"Lord Malnice?"

He looked up, having been so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't hear the owner of the sickly sweet voice enter the room. General Kreeth walked carefully up to the throne and bowed lowly, letting her oily black feathers scrape the ground in respect. Lord Malnice looked at her for a moment, then motioned for her to stand.

"What do you think of all of this ugly chaos, General Kreeth?" he asked her quietly, his voice a harsh whisper in the cold, silent room.

"I think that 85-21's actions are unforgivable, my lord." Kreeth responded slowly.

"Absolutely. Has the blacksmith been replaced?"

"Yes, by his best apprentice, 64-29."

"Good. That's the first step to restoring order, General. Do you know the second step?" Lord Malnice stood and walked over to one of the windows, staring outside thoughtfully.

"To calm the people, my lord?" General Kreeth watched him, not moving as he stared out into the night.

"No, but close. We eliminate the problem, then calm the people. 85-21 and that jackal _vermin_ must be destroyed. I am disappointed that my warriors were outsmarted by a bunch of winged rats, a dog, and a runaway. We will have to use a different strategy. General Kreeth, summon Doctor Beck."

"Yes, my lord." General Kreeth bowed lowly and left the room quickly.

Lord Malnice smirked to himself and kept his gaze locked firmly on the darkness outside. He rustled his wings a bit in agitation, unable to feel at peace until this whole matter was settled. He felt as if his body was being repeatedly pricked by tiny needles, and he suppressed a shudder.

"My skin feels like it's crawling." he hissed softly to himself, turning away from the window.

He walked back to his throne and sat down, waiting until Dr. Beck and General Kreeth arrived. He waited for fifteen minutes, and he sighed in relief when they walked carefully into the room.

Dr. Beck was a tall, lean man, with shaggy white hair and a thin white beard. He had sharp yellow eyes and skin tanned a light brown by the sun. He wore a pair of brown shorts and a loose black shirt. Dr. Beck was the only non-avian in the Knights who held a position above prisoner;he was a mammalian hybrid, some sort of dog. He had large brown ears, a long tail, and (most importantly to the Knights) a keen sense of smell. He led a pack of other dog hybrids, and they were the best trackers that the organization had.

"You called for me, my lord?" Dr. Beck asked, couching low onto one knee and bowing reverently.

"Yes. I have a task I wish for you and your pack to complete." Lord Malnice replied, waving his hand for Dr. Beck to stand up, which he did quickly.

"How may we be of service, my lord?" Dr. Beck asked curiously. His services were usually only required to find a runaway prisoner, but he didn't need his pack for something so simple.

"One of our Knights, the blacksmith 85-21, remembered his name and escaped. He has been a Knight for a long time, and knows a fair bit of information on our precious organization. I want you and your dogs to track him, find him, and kill him and anyone who tries to help him. This is a serious problem, so you _must not fail_." Lord Malnice hissed his last few words, making sure the mutt understood the severity of the situation.

"Right away, my lord." Dr. Beck bowed, masking his surprise. He had never been asked to _kill_ before, simply to fetch.

He left the room quickly, mentally preparing a list of all of the things he and his pack would need to track their quarry. He was nervous and uneasy about being asked to kill, but he knew that if he refused, Lord Malnice would have no problems with killing him instead. He knew that he was dispensable, but he hoped that his unvaryingly loyal service would spare him from the fate met by so many before him, and the many he was sure were to follow.

Lord Malnice and General Kreeth watched him leave, the general turning to look quietly at the tired man she so admired.

"My lord, when we have eliminated the humans and the reptilians, and begin with the mammalians...will Doctor Beck and his hounds survive the purge?" she asked curiously, ruffling her feathers noisily.

"Heh. When I said that I would purge the world of all members of all inferior races, I meant all members, Doctor Beck included. Regardless of his loyal service, he is a mammalian, thus he must die after his usefulness has run its course." Lord Malnice stood stiffly and began walking out of the room.

"Ah, one more thing. General Kreeth, I'm putting you in charge of the destroy 85-21 operation, so you'll be receiving regular reports from Doctor Beck. It's now up to you to make sure that he is silenced, for good." Lord Malnice smirked and left the room, leaving the startled general behind.

General Kreeth stood alone, enveloped in thought at what Lord Malnice had said. She sneered in irritation and stretched her wings, looking around at the lonely stone room. Her dim yellow eyes fell to rest on the portrait of Lord Malnice on the wall, and she walked slowly over to it. She smiled softly to herself as she slowly dragged her fingers down the portrait's smooth surface, feeling the slight bumps and contours of the dried paint.

"Ah, Lord Malnice. How long will this last? How long until that demon, the madness that dwells deep within your black soul, rises completely to the surface? You are dying, my lord, from the inside out. And I am made of the same cruelty and madness. I am made of the same foul, ugly stuffing. I have that same horrid disease, the same torment. I also have the blackened soul." she chuckled and shook her head, staring into the portrait's empty rabid-dog eyes.

She sighed and turned, stalking slowly from the room. She looked back at it over her shoulder, trying to understand the man who made this place his refuge. She found the task quite daunting, and gave up quickly. She walked down the long, dark corridors, the only sound her shallow breathing and the brisk click of her talons on the stone floor.


	9. You Must Flee Again

**You Must Flee Again**

Verte smiled softly to himself, rejoicing in the feeling of wind beneath his wings. The early morning sun hung in the sky, burning a brilliant orange in the clear blue sky. Verte lifted his wings a little, grinning widely at the sense of freedom that coursed through his veins. He enjoyed the feeling of wind whipping his messy black hair and ruffling his silvery feathers. He was so overjoyed, the strange metallic squeaking of Torin's wings didn't bother him.

"What are you grinning at over there, pigeon? You may feel free, but I bet the Knights have already sent someone after you two, and that means that we're all in danger." Torin shot Verte a glare, which the avian ignored.

"Even so, it's nice to be away from that horrid place, even if I was only there for a little while. I don't blame you for enjoying your freedom a little, Verte, but we have to hurry to The City of Many Truths." Kitsune said calmly, her arms wrapped around his neck carefully.

Kitsune clung to Verte tightly, making sure that she didn't choke him, but also trying not to fall. The group was flying high above the Forest of Cǣrbanog, and Kitsune certainly did not want to slip. Torin and Borea flew close behind them, Borea looking thoughtful, and Torin casting angry looks at Verte whenever he could.

"Don't worry, Kit, we'll be fine. We'll fly for most of the day, and land to eat and rest at night. It will take a while to reach the city, so we might as well enjoy the trip." Verte replied cheerily, his happiness impenetrable.

"Don't get overconfident. Who knows what sort of creatures Malnice has on our trail?" Kitsune said sternly, glancing nervously over her shoulder.

"Well, he's either sent a general and their squadron, or he's sent Doctor Beck."

"Doctor Beck?" Borea asked curiously.

"Doctor Beck is a dog hybrid, though no one is really sure what breed of dog he is. He's been the Knight's tracker for several years now, and is the alpha of a whole pack of dog hybrids. Who knows, maybe the whole pack is after us." Verte shrugged, and Kitsune yelped softly and tightened her grip around his neck at the motion.

"That sounds scary." Borea flattened her large bats ears to her head at the thought.

"I suppose so." Verte agreed.

The group flew in silence for a while, using the Sun's position in the sky as a compass. The day grew late, and soon they landed in a shady area surrounded by tall poplar trees. Kitsune hopped off of Verte's back, her legs wobbling and numb from being stuck firmly in the same position for several hours. Verte chuckled as she grabbed his shoulder for support, and he helped her over to a tree carefully. She sat down and nodded her thanks, blushing softly as her stomach gave a low whine of hunger.

"I'll go get us something to eat." Torin said quickly, removing his metal wings and setting them down.

The group watched as Torin quickly scrambled up the nearest tree and vanished into the thick green canopy above. Borea walked over to the middle of the little alcove and began to pull clumps of grass from the moist ground. Kitsune stood and walked over to her, her legs no longer asleep. She crouched down carefully and began to help, tossing the lumps of grass and dirt over her shoulder.

"What are you two doing?" Verte asked, looking at them in confusion.

"Clearing a place to build a fire. Can you get us some dry wood and some tinder?" Borea asked softly, picking stray bits of grass from the circular area she and Kitsune were working on.

Verte nodded and walked over to where Kitsune had dropped their backpack and opened it. He carefully pulled the sword from it and removed the leather he had swaddled the blade with. He walked briskly into the forest, leaving the two women alone. Borea looked around to make sure that Verte was gone, then smiled and stood up.

"Come on, we need to get some small stones to line the border of our circle so we don't set anything on fire." Borea helped Kitsune up, then led her over to the edge of their alcove.

The two young women began gathering small stones, any that they could find under the trees. They would gather a few, take them over to their fire circle, then return to gather more stones. Borea gave Kitsune a curious look as they worked.

"So, I saw that you had given that ibis necklace of your Mother's to Verte. That was kind of you." she started carefully.

"Yeah, I thought he could use Thoth's wisdom more than I." Kitsune replied.

"Have you told him what it really does?"

Kitsune paused for a moment, then sighed and shook her head.

"No. I told him that it would give him wisdom. I didn't mention it's real power, because I didn't know if he would believe me." she said softly, reaching up to hold the Anubis head on her necklace.

"You should probably tell him sometime soon. Not every piece of jewelry does that. By the way, how is your..._condition?_" Borea asked.

"About as well as it can be. As long as I keep this necklace on, it's nothing to worry about." Kitsune walked back to the circle and dropped a few more stones next to it.

Borea followed her quickly, looking somewhat worried.

"Are you sure? If something were to happen..." her sentence trailed off.

"I know what could happen, Borea. I've been living with this condition for most of my life, I think I know how to deal with it." Kitsune snapped at her in annoyance.

"I didn't mean to offend you, Kit." Borea said quietly, her feelings obviously wounded.

Kitsune looked at her for a moment, then sighed and relented.

"I know, I'm sorry I bit your head off. I'm just very touchy about the issue." she said apologetically, giving Borea a soft smile.

"I understand. It's interesting, though, if you think about it. One necklace that suppresses your condition specifically, and another that enhances whatever condition Verte has. How did you know to give the Thoth necklace to him?"

"I just thought that it was worth a shot. If he has some sort of condition or ability that can help us, then that necklace will make it stronger."

"And if it's something like yours?"

"We would be dead by now."

Borea nodded her understanding, then shot Kitsune a sly look.

"You and Verte seem kind of close for people who have only known each other for about a week." she said with a small smile.

"You would quickly become close to someone who had saved your life, too." Kitsune replied, her face going slightly pink at what her friend was insinuating.

"Yes, I suppose so. I just can't help but wonder if there's something more to it than that?"

Kitsune's face went a deep shade of red, and she looked away quickly.

"No, no, of course not. Don't be absurd. As you said, Verte and I have only known one another for a week." she said sternly, starting to put the stones around the edges of their fire circle.

Borea smiled knowingly and started to help her, and soon the whole circle was surrounded by stones. The two women sighed when they were done and sat back, waiting for Verte and Torin to return. After a few minutes, Verte stumbled back into the clearing with several dried out logs in his arms. Several small, red apples sat on top of the logs, and he walked slowly to avoid dropping them.

"Can someone come and get these apples? I found them in a tree while I was getting the firewood." he said gruffly.

Kitsune jumped to her feet and walked up to him, picking up the apples and carrying them back to where Borea was sitting. Verte dropped the pile of wood next to their dirt circle and sighed, plopping down next to Kitsune. He set his sword down in the grass behind him and rolled his stiff shoulders, wincing a bit at their soreness. Kitsune set the apples down carefully and looked up at him.

"What's up with the apples?" she asked quietly.

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away, right? If Malnice has sent Doctor Beck and his pack after us, maybe that old wives tale will help us avoid them." Verte answered with a shrug, leaning forward to put a few pieces of wood into the circle.

Verte pulled a wad of dried grass out of one of his pockets and began packing it into cracks between the logs for the fire. He worked slowly and carefully, and Kitsune and Borea watched the former blacksmith at work. Once he was satisfied with the amount and distribution of the tinder, he pulled a small box of matches from his other pocket. He struck a match and watched the little fire atop it sway in the breeze, the flames dance reflected in his eyes. After a moment, he lowered the match to the logs, and soon he had a large, warm fire going.

"That's perfect, a good cooking fire." Borea complimented, walking over to the edge of the clearing and picking up a few long, thin sticks.

She walked back to the fire and drove two of the sticks into the ground on opposite ends of it, then placed a third atop the ends of them. Verte smiled at her resourcefulness.

"An excellent spit, Borea. Now we just have to wait for Torin to bring something to put on it." he said with a chuckle.

"You mean like these?"

The group turned to see Torin walking out of the forest, carrying two skinned and gutted rabbits over his shoulder. He grinned proudly and knelt down next to the fire, putting the rabbits on the spit. He sighed and stood, leaning his bow and quiver against a tree before sitting down across from Verte.

"Well done, Torin." Verte attempted to compliment him, getting nothing but an ambivalent snort in return.

The group sat in silence until the rabbits were done, then used one of Verte's daggers to cut pieces from them. They ate quietly and only spoke every once in a while. Kitsune finished first and yawned sleepily, laying down and relaxing. She was close to falling asleep when her sensitive jackal's ears picked up a strange sound. She sat up slowly and began moving her ears around, trying to hear it better and figure out where it was coming from.

"What's up, Kit?" Torin asked, looking at her curiously.

"Shh!" she hissed quickly, and the group fell silent and watched her.

She sat completely still for a few minutes, then tilted her head to one side in confusion.

"I hear barking, coming from somewhere behind us. It's not that far off." she said slowly.

Verte jumped to his feet immediately and began throwing his things into his backpack.

"Pack your thing, now, that's bound to be Beck and his mutts! We don't have much time!" He explained quickly, tossing the packed bag at Kitsune.

Kitsune caught the bag and put it on, listening in panic as the barking grew slowly closer. Torin snatched his metal wings up and put them on, grabbing the rest of his things and walking briskly to where Borea was still packing her things. He grabbed the rest of her things and stuffed them into the bag, closed it, and shoved it into her arms. They both opened their wings and flew up into the sky, waiting for Verte and Kitsune to join them.

Verte crouched to allow Kitsune to climb onto his back, then took off to join the others. They began to fly away from the alcove as quickly as they could. Kitsune could still hear the barking of Doctor Beck's hounds, and pulled herself closer against Verte's back nervously. Verte tensed for a moment, then allowed himself to relax and concentrate on getting as far from the clearing as possible.

"Kitsune, do you still hear them?" Verte asked her after an hour of hard flying.

"No, not anymore." Kitsune responded with a yawn.

Verte glanced over his shoulder at the group and saw how tired they were. He sighed and looked around for a place to land, but saw nothing but trees. He was getting tired as well, but knew that they should keep flying until they were very far from Beck's hounds.

"I know we're all tired, but we need to get as far as we can from the hounds. We'll find a place to land in a few hours." he said unhappily, shaking his head at the inconvenience.

They flew in silence for a while, Verte glancing over his shoulder every once in a while. He blinked in surprise when he looked back at Kitsune and saw that she had fallen asleep. His face went slightly red, and he smiled softly and reached back to push her head onto his shoulder. She grumbled at his touch and nuzzled her face into his hair in her sleep, and a strange shiver ran up Verte's spine. He sighed and looked back in front of him, ignoring the strange look that Borea shot at him. He reached up and wrapped his fingers around the ibis necklace Kitsune had given him. A strange feeling of calm spread over him, and he returned his focus to the forest below.


	10. The Hunt

**Note to Silverlings- This chapter is short for a reason. It was to give a better look into the mind of a very distressed Dr. Beck.**

**The Hunt**

Dr. Beck stood silently and watched as his pack looked around the small alcove, sniffing at the air for a scent to follow. He knew that their quarry had been there, he could see the obvious signs they had left behind; half-eaten rabbit, a snuffed-out fire, a few silver feathers laying about. The master tracker and his pack of ten canine hybrids weren't going to let their prey escape so easily.

"They seem to have left about an hour ago, in a hurry. They're flying east, toward the Cave of Mazes." one of the hounds, a scruffy looking fellow, reported gruffly.

"The Cave of Mazes? If we don't catch them, they'll just get lost and die in there. If the reptilians don't get them first. At any rate, we had better kill them before they reach the cave. General Kreeth won't be happy if they escape." Dr. Beck sighed and picked up one of the silver feathers, twirling it between his fingers thoughtfully.

Dr. Beck sighed and dropped the feather, watching it slowly flutter to the ground. He looked around at his pack, his loyal hounds, who had hunted with him for so long. Before they had been captured by the Knights, they had been the best hunting party in their village. They would bring back big game, such as deer and wild hog, and the village would feast. But that was the past;all that mattered now was the uncertain future.

"Come on, we have to stay close to them. If we want Lord Malnice to spare us from his great purge, we cannot fail." he barked.

The others nodded, and the whole pack took off running at a surprisingly brisk pace, Dr. Beck in the lead. They ran in silence, focusing only on the chase before them. Tracking flying prey wasn't much more difficult than ground prey, but catching them was. This was why Dr. Beck had insisted that they each carry a bow and quiver full of arrows;so they could shoot the prey down if need be.

Dr. Beck glanced around at his pack once more, contemplating their fate. He could only hope that they would be spared from Lord Malnice's brutal multiple-race genocide, but a gnawing feeling in the back of his mind made him doubt it. He could sense the madness growing within his master's black heart, and it made him uneasy. He didn't want to die, nor did he want his pack to perish, but something inside him warned him of their impending demise.

"That's why I can't make any mistakes. We have to succeed."


	11. Verte's Rage

**Verte's Rage**

A light breeze stirred his hair, rousing Verte from an unsatisfying sleep. He sat up and yawned, stretching and popping his back. He winced at the stiffness in his wings as he stretched them out. The group had been fleeing from Beck's hounds for several days, landing for only a couple of hours at a time and sleeping high up in trees. They had only been able to catch a couple of scrawny rabbits, and were forced to eat the meat raw, unable to stop long enough to cook it. They had finished the apples Verte had picked a couple of days before, and were desperate to find something to eat.

Verte scowled at the gnawing pain in the pit of his empty stomach and looked around at the others in the group. Torin slept with his back against the trunk of the tree, his bow right by his side. His obvious hatred for Verte hadn't lessened very much, and he always slept facing him, ready to riddle his body with arrows at a moments notice. Borea slept close to him, her wings folded around herself like a blanket. She shifted a bit in her sleep and sighed, her arms wrapped around the trunk of the tree. Verte then focused his attention on Kitsune, who slept closest to him in case they needed to take off suddenly. She looked worn and exhausted, just like the rest of them. She shivered and whimpered every once in a while, and Verte assumed she was suffering from nightmares. He jumped a little in surprise when she growled angrily and sat up, her eyes wide and panicked.

"Kit...?" he asked cautiously, leaning toward her a bit.

"Verte? Oh, sorry..." Kitsune whispered back, looking down at the ground in embarrassment.

"What happened? Nightmares?" Verte asked after a moment of awkward silence.

"Memories." Kitsune corrected slowly.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Kitsune looked up at him sharply, her ears standing up atop her head. He was looking at her sorrowfully, and she blinked when he reached out a hand to her. She stared at his hand thoughtfully, and he waited with saint-like patience for her to take it. Kitsune finally relented and slipped her small hand into his larger, rougher one. Verte smiled softly and pulled her next to him, then he draped an arm over her shoulder comfortingly.

"So, what memories have been tormenting your sleep?" he asked quietly, not wanting to wake the others.

"The massacre in Aiñor. It was awful, Verte. Those avians came in and killed almost everyone in the village. Their leader attacked with claws of fire; she was the worst, killing everyone she fell upon." Kitsune whispered softly, turning away to hide the tears that stung her eyes.

"Kitsune...your family...did they survive the massacre?"

"No...I didn't see what happened to them, because we were separated after my mother gave me the Thoth necklace, but I didn't see them in the line of prisoners taken back to the Knights."

Verte sighed and nodded slowly, looking down at her sadly. He could feel her pain, for his family had vanished one day while working for the Knights, and had never returned. He suddenly pulled Kitsune close to him, hugging her tightly. She tensed for a moment, then relaxed into the embrace.

"Aww, how cute. Now if you two are done with the romance over there, it's about time we get going."

Kitsune and Verte looked up to see Torin and Borea watching them. Torin was glaring daggers at them, whilst Borea was grinning from ear to ear. Verte quickly let Kitsune go, blushing madly, and he turned so that she could climb onto his back. Once they were all ready they flew up into the dark evening sky, arcing toward the east. Kitsune leaned down and whispered softly into Verte's ear.

"Thanks, Verte."

She gently kissed his cheek, and he almost plummeted from the sky in surprise. He recovered quickly and nodded at her, hoping than Borea and Torin had not noticed. Luckily for him, neither of them had been paying them any attention, distracted by the faraway echo of Beck's hounds barking. Several hours passed in silence before the group landed in another tree, exhausted and hungry.

"Do you think we have time to catch something to eat?" Kitsune asked as she slid off of Verte's back.

"I'll try and catch us something." Verte replied. He started to jump out of the tree, but Torin stopped him.

"No, I'm tired of this. We're going to have a real meal tonight. We aren't running from those mutts anymore. If we want to survive long enough to get to The City of Many Truths, we have to get those damn dogs off our tails." he said sternly.

"What do you want to do, wait here for them to catch us and fight?" Verte asked, watching him carefully.

"Exactly. I say we stay right here, wait for this Doctor Beck and his stupid pack to show up, and kill them."

"Killing someone isn't as easy as you seem to think, Torin. I would have thought that seeing what happened to your village would have taught you that."

"It was easy enough for the avians that turned Aiñor into a ruin, especially that crow wearing the fireclaws you forged. Only a master smith could have made those, and you were their master smith." Torin spat at him, his tail swishing back and forth in anger.

Verte sighed guiltily and looked away.

"I don't deny that I made the claws, but I regret it with all of my being. I would have rather done anything than make them, but as a slave of the Knights of the Sky, I had no choice. I understand your anger, Torin, but I don't want to kill anyone." he tried to explain, but Torin would have no part of it.

"You already have! Your claws led to the deaths of almost an entire village full of people! My family, Borea's family, Kitsune's family! It was so easy to tear them apart, but you won't stand and fight those who have been trying to kill us for almost two weeks! You aren't an owl, or even a pigeon; you're a chicken!" Torin yelled cruelly at him.

Verte snapped, and before anyone could stop him he had Torin pinned to the tree by his throat. Borea and Kitsune tried to pull him off, but he used his wings to keep them away from him. He leaned forward so he could whisper into the struggling raccoon hybrid's ear.

"I suggest you hold your tongue, or I'll silence you myself. I'm tired of you being on my case when I'm trying to help you. I'm not your enemy, _rat_, but the idea is starting to grow on me." he hissed, dropping the startled man.

Torin climbed slowly to his feet, rubbing his throat and glaring at Verte with loathing in his eyes. He looked away quickly and drew his bow, turning back in the direction they had come from.

"You three can run away if you want, but I'm staying to fight."

They watched him in silence for a moment, then Borea sighed and shrugged off her backpack. She knelt and unzipped it, pulling a thick wooden club from it. The club had small, rounded stones set into the thicker end, and looked like a very dangerous weapon indeed. Borea carried it over her shoulder and went to stand next to Torin.

"He's right about one thing. We're all tired and hungry, and we won't get any peace until we get rid of Beck. Killing them won't be easy by any means, but who knows how many lives we'll be saving in the long run?" she said softly, staring out into the forest.

Verte and Kitsune exchanged a quick look, then both sighed and unzipped their bag. Verte pulled Kitsune's dagger from it and handed it to her, and was about to grab his sword when he stopped. He stared thoughtfully at a bundle wrapped in several layers of thick leather. After a long moment, he pulled the bundle from the bag and unwrapped it. The eight glowing fireclaws sat in a jumbled heap in the bundle. Verte silently removed them and put them on his talons, then stood and joined the others. They stared in shock at the hated weapons, and Kitsune barely managed to suppress a shudder of discomfort, but no one said anything. As loathed as the terrible weapons were, they seemed appropriate for him, a former smith whose greatest love had been the beauty of a burning flame.

They stood in silence for about an hour until Kitsune's sensitive ears twitched. She tensed and nodded at them;the hounds were close, closer than they had expected. The others returned the nod and stared out into the dark forest. Soon, they could hear the yelps, growls, and barks of the dogs as well. Within a few minutes the pack burst into view, running and jumping to surround the tree where their prey was waiting for them. A tall figure walked calmly to the trunk of the tree and looked up, smirking victoriously at them.

"So, I've finally caught up to you four. You've provided a rather fun chase, I must admit, but play time is over." Dr. Beck sneered up at them.

"You're right, Doctor. We're done playing cat and mouse with you and your mutts." Verte replied calmly, and the pack growled angrily at his comment.

"Come down here, little pigeon, or we'll shoot you down!" one of Beck's pack members snarled, lifting his bow.

"If that's what you want." Verte said with a shrug before opening his wings and jumping down into the middle of the pack.

Borea and Kitsune followed as the hounds recovered from their initial shock and began to fight back. Torin stayed on the branch and shot arrows into the hounds as they fell upon his comrades. Verte was a blur, slashing at his opponents with the fireclaws. They howled and whined loudly in pain, but continued fighting. Borea swung her club around dangerously, ignoring the sickening sound it made whenever it connected with a dog's skull. None of the others noticed Kitsune's struggle with Dr. Beck.

Kitsune didn't have very much fighting experience, and she jumped and lunged at Beck sloppily, trying her best to slash him with her dagger. He dodged her clumsy moves easily and jabbed at her with a knife of his own, and she barely avoided his blows. He grinned at her, enjoying watching the tiny jackal hybrid tire herself out.

"My, my, how spunky you are. If we didn't have to kill you, you'd make a nice pet." Beck crooned at her.

"Ew, gross. No way, mutt." Kitsune growled back, lunging at him.

Beck grinned and dodged her attack, quickly grabbing the chain of her silver Anubis necklace and pulling her disturbingly close to him. Kitsune froze, watching the dog hybrid carefully as he examined the necklace. He smirked at her, noticing her intense gaze.

"My, this is quite the treasure. What's a sorry excuse for a wild dog like you doing with a beauty like this? I'm going to have to confiscate this, my dear. I'll make a present of it to Lord Malnice." Dr. Beck grinned and pulled hard on the necklace.

Kitsune yelped and swung her arm in a desperate attempt to shake Dr. Beck off, sinking her dagger deep into his side. Dr. Beck yowled loudly in pain and let go of the necklace, grabbing his wounded side and stumbling away from her. Blood stained his shirt red, and Kitsune blinked in revulsion at what she had done.

"I-I'm sorry." she whispered, and the hound bared his teeth at her in reply.

"I'll kill you and take that necklace back to my Lord Malnice, you insolent pup! You don't deserve such a treasure!" he snarled and lunged at her.

Kitsune crossed her arms in front of her and braced for an impact, but it never came. She slowly opened her eyes to see Dr. Beck lying on the ground, Verte standing over him. Verte's feathers stood up on end, making him look large and fierce. His visible green eye glinted in anger, and he grinned cruelly at the struggling hybrid he had pinned by his chest. The fireclaws on his talons glowed a sinister red in the darkness, and were starting to burn tiny holes in Dr. Beck's shirt. Torin, Borea, Kitsune, and the three remaining hounds froze and watched as Beck thrashed and screamed in terror.

"85-21, please! It's hot, I can feel it burning, let me go! Please!" he begged, trying to push Verte's leg off of him.

"You chase us like cats and mice, then beg for mercy? How much mercy have you shown anyone in your years working for the Knights? None, not a scrap of any feelings of remorse or regret or anything!" Verte yelled at him, pressing down harder on his chest.

"Please, I can change! I'll go tell Kreeth that you're dead, if you'll let me live! 85-21, please, you aren't a murderer! Let me up!" Beck writhed as the points of the fireclaws came into contact with his bare skin, the cloth burned away.

"The great hunting dog, reduced to a chihuahua by a little heat. Pathetic. This isn't murder, Beck. This is a kindness. I'll do this quickly. Malnice would have made it slow and drawn out." Verte replied coldly.

"No, Lord Malnice would spare me! I've served him so loyally! I, his hunting dog, would survive the purge!"

Verte threw his head back and laughed, a harsh, sarcastic sound in the stunned silence.

"You have been deluding yourself, you fool. Malnice doesn't care about you. The moment your usefulness runs out, Malnice will toss you out like old laundry." He snorted.

With a combination of a sick crunch and a hiss of cooking flesh, Verte closed his talons and crushed Dr. Beck's chest. The remaining hounds sniffed at the air for a moment, then yelped and took off running in different directions. Verte tensed and was about to go after them, but he stopped when he saw the shocked looks on his friend's faces. He felt a blush of shame creep into his cheeks, and he looked down at the bloody mess that used to be Dr. Beck.

"Ah, uhm...sorry, I guess I got a little carried away." he said slowly.

"No, he's gone. We don't have to worry about him anymore." Torin said, pulling his arrows from the bodies of the other hounds.

"I shouldn't have done that to him."

"He would have done the same to you, and to me. Thank you, Verte." Kitsune smiled at him, and he couldn't help but return the gesture.

"Okay...we need to get away from here. Wild animals are going to show up soon to investigate the smell." Torin said quickly, grabbing his backpack.

The others nodded and put their weapons away, gathering their things as well. They shot into the sky not a moment too soon, for when Kitsune looked back at the mess they had made, she saw a large bear wander out of the brush to investigate. She smiled softly and returned her gaze to the dark night sky, yawning sleepily. Verte heard her and cast her a concerned glance, but she smiled to show that she was okay.

They landed about thirty minutes later, and Kitsune climbed wearily off of Verte's back. They began to set up a makeshift camp under the cover of several large oak trees, and soon they had a roaring fire going as well. Kitsune sighed and sat down, exhausted from the day's events. Her stomach gave a low whine of hunger, and she looked over at Torin hopefully.

"Can we get something to eat?" she asked shyly.

Torin smiled and stretched, popping his back, before sauntering off into the forest. He returned an hour later with a few rabbits, and soon the group was enjoying the taste of cooked food once more. Torin watched Verte as they ate, and allowed a very slight feeling of respect to creep into his perception of him.

"Hey, pigeon. Nice work today." he said with a tiny hint of a smile.

Verte blinked in surprise, then smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, Torin." he replied.

No more words were exchanged that night, and soon everyone was enjoying a deep, peaceful sleep. None of them particularly cared about the much-to-quietness of the forest that night. None of them noticed that they hadn't seen any wildlife in the general area of where they had landed, even though it was close to a stream. And none of them noticed the two bright yellow eyes watching them from the bushes.


	12. Silth and Slonk

**Silth and Slonk**

Kitsune giggled a bit in her half-sleep and shifted a bit, trying to push away the piece of grass irritating her skin. It didn't work, and she could feel the annoying plant slithering across her side. She shifted again, but the irritant persisted.

_Wait...grass doesn't slither._

Kitsune's eyes popped open, and all she could see was one bright yellow eye staring curiously at her. She shrieked like a banshee and jumped to her feet, throwing the creature off of her. The others sprang to their feet in sleepy confusion.

"Whazzgoinon?" Verte shouted, looking around with eyes red from exhaustion.

Kitsune pointed to where she had tossed the creature. Sitting in the grass were two small green snakes, writhing and watching them. The snakes each had an eye patch over one eye, one over the left and the other over the right. They each had a tiny black bandana tied around their necks. Verte smiled and chuckled, walking over and picking one up by the end of its tail.

"Did this frighten you, Kit? It's just a little snake." he said, amused.

"Watch who you're calling little, pal." the snake hissed at him, and he yelped and tossed it away from him in shock.

The snake hissed as it bounced a bit when it hit the grass.

"Sssstop throwing ussss!" it snapped at them as its fellow slithered over to it.

"Sorry, but most snakes don't talk." Verte replied, still confused.

"We aren't like mossst sssnakessss. We're reptiliansssss, but we were born with a mutation that made ussss look like sssnakessss." one of the snakes said in annoyance.

"Sorry about throwing you the first time. You startled me." Kitsune said, sitting down in front of the two serpents.

"Apology accepted. I ssshould not have been right in your face when you woke up." the snake's tone suddenly became very polite and proper, and it bowed respectfully.

"So, who are you two?" Borea asked as the rest of the group sat down in front of the strange new arrivals.

"I am Ssssilth, and thissss isss my twin brother." the snake with the eye patch over his right eye hissed.

"My name issss Ssslonk." the other serpent hissed, coiling into a ball.

"It's a pleasure to meet you two. I'm Kitsune, and these are my friends Borea, Torin, and Verte." Kitsune smiled at them, and they nodded back at her.

"What are the four of you doing out here, sssso closssse to the Cave of Mazessss?" Slonk hissed suspiciously.

"We're close to the Cave of Mazes?" Torin asked, looking at him in surprise.

"It'ssss only an hourssss walk from here for legged beingssss ssssuch asssss yourssselvessss."

"Excellent! We can head there in the morning!"

"Why?" Silth asked, slithering a bit closer to them.

"We're looking for the City of Many Truths." Borea replied with a small smile.

Silth and Slonk exchanged a quick look before returning their bright yellow gaze onto the hybrids before them.

"What busssinesssss do the lot of you have with the City of Many Truthssss?" Silth hissed, seeming apprehensive.

"We need their help to defeat The Knights of the Sky. We need them to help us fight." Verte answered, sensing the rising tension in the serpent's demeanor.

The two snakes turned to each other, looking somewhat upset.

"We don't approve of what the Knightssss are doing, but..." Slonk began hesitantly.

"But...?" Kitsune said encouragingly, watching as Silth and Slonk turned to look at them again.

"We can't let you into the cave. We are part of a group of reptiliansss ssset up to pretend to be banditssss, but our real job issss to protect the entrance to the cave. We don't want bad people getting to the city." Silth replied warily.

"So, what are you gonna do, bite us? You two are tiny." Torin scoffed at them.

"One bite from either of usss would leave you dead in a matter of minutessss, coon. We may be ssssmall, but we are extremely venomousssss." Slonk hissed back angrily. He opened his mouth wide to prove his point, flashing a pair of long, curved fangs.

"Please, you have to let us pass! If you don't, the Knights will kill everyone except themselves!" Kitsune begged desperately.

Silth and Slonk squirmed uncomfortably, looking around.

"We know, but even if _we _let you passsssss, the otherssss wouldn't approve. They would kill ussss for betraying them." Slonk whispered nervously.

"Then come with us. Please, we have to stop them. Silth, Slonk, please..."

The two serpents looked at her doubtfully, then slithered over to where they were out of earshot of the group. They hissed lowly at each other, glancing back at the group every once in a while. After a few minutes of heated debate, they returned to the group. They both looked worried, glancing around anxiously and flicking their forked tongues out to taste the air.

"I don't tasssste any of the othersssss around, Sssssilth. It'ssss sssssafe." Slonk whispered to him carefully.

"Good. Okay, we've decided to go with you. Usssually, there are two guardsss at the entrance to the cave. Tomorrow, Ssssslonk and I are the guardssss, but when we do it there hasss to be another reptilian with usssss assss well. We'll ssssssimply ussse a little bit of our venom to knock whoever it isssss out, then we'll ssssskeddadle. We'll have to hurry through the cave." Silth hissed quietly.

"Yessss, it won't take long for the otherssss to come after ussss." Slonk said with a nod.

"Okay. Thank you so much, guys!" Kitsune grinned at the brothers, and they nodded eagerly back at her.

Verte eyed them suspiciously, then shrugged and walked back over to where he had been sleeping. The others returned to their places as well, and soon everyone but Verte and the serpent twins had fallen asleep. Verte watched the serpents carefully, keeping his eyes barely open so they would not notice. Silth and Slonk slithered over to the group and coiled around themselves, and had soon nodded off to sleep.

Verte sighed to himself and rolled over and closed his eyes, exhausted by the events of the day. A cold breeze sent a shiver down his spine, and a feeling of foreboding crept into him. The snakes made him a little nervous, but something else was bothering him, something he didn't know how to express. He had this horrible feeling of dread, but didn't know what was causing it. He could only hope that it was just his imagination.


	13. Penryck

**Penryck**

A harsh wind tore through the camp, tossing Kreeth's untidy black hair around her face like scraps of dirty black cloth. She growled in irritation and shook her head, trying to throw the billowing curtain of hair out of her field of vision. The general stomped quickly toward her office, leaving claw marks in the ground where her talons tore up chunks of dirt. She bumped into someone, who offered a startled apology, but the crow rudely ignored them and kept walking. She had somewhere to be: one of Beck's hounds had apparently returned without his pack leader.

Kreeth soon reached her destination, a small cement building she used as an office, and hurried inside. The office was decorated strangely, with pictures of crows and white doves hanging all over the gray walls. A desk sat in a corner, and was disturbingly clean. The general had put a large, overstuffed white armchair behind it, and a few rigid wooden chairs on the other side of the room. A dog hybrid with buzz-cut blonde hair and nervous brown eyes sat in one of these chairs, his spotted white ears standing up alertly when Kreeth entered. He sprang to his feet and snapped to attention as the general observed him in stern silence for a moment. Kreeth then motioned for him to return to his seat, and she leaned lazily against the front of her desk.

"Alright, mutt, I don't have all day, so spit it out quick. Why are you here?" she said harshly, and the man blanched at her severity.

"I-it's Doctor Beck, ma'am. He's dead. Almost all of the pack is dead, only a few of us survived. The others...the runaways killed them." he stuttered nervously.

Kreeth stood and stared at him in stunned silence for a few minutes. Anger and disbelief boiled in her blood, and she glared daggers at the hybrid sitting anxiously before her. She had expected Beck to bring 85-21 and the little jackal girl back within a few days. It had been almost two weeks since Lord Malnice had sent the pack after them, and now she was learning that almost all of the pack was gone.

"What happened to the other survivors in the pack?" she asked suspiciously.

"They ran away, ma'am. They ran away into the woods somewhere like scared little puppies." the mutt spat the last word in disgust.

"Where did 85-21's group seem to be headed?"

"They were close to the Cave of Mazes when we found them, ma'am."

Kreeth paced back and forth, her rage building with every step she took. Lord Malnice had specifically ordered her to oversee the operation, and it had gone awry. If she failed to bring 85-21 and the jackal to justice, she would surely be punished. The thought sent a shiver of fear down her spine. She turned quickly to look at the man with wide, insane eyes brimming with panic.

"You idiots! You were ordered to kill them! Kill them! If you fail, I'll die instead!" she shouted at him, and he recoiled at her anger.

She glared at him, her thoughts racing, then gave a loud cry and sprang upon him. He yelped in surprise as the general wrapped her talons around his throat. He gagged and struggled to throw the crazed woman off of him, but he only succeeded in angering her more. She whispered menacingly to him, but her words were spoken so quickly that he couldn't understand what she was saying. This seemed to drive her over the edge, and with a quick jerk of her talons the unfortunate hybrid was lying dead at her feet.

Kreeth stood over the body and stared down at it as blood began to pool at her feet. Her breathing was heavy and ragged as she thought desperately about what to do. She had to find a way to kill 85-21 and whoever else was foolish enough to help him before they got too far away. She didn't know where they were going, but she did know that she had to stop them. She would surely be killed if she didn't.

Kreeth stormed angrily out of her office, snarling at someone to go clean up the mess in her office as she jogged toward Lord Malnice's palace. She had an idea, but she would need her leader's permission to implement it. She could only hope that he didn't kill her on the spot instead.

She slowed to a nervous walk once she was close to the palace door, and she eased it open and slipped sneakily inside. She walked as quietly as she could toward the main room, making sure that her talons didn't click on the stone floor. When she reached the massive double doors to Lord Malnice's meeting chamber, she gulped nervously and eased one of the doors open.

"L-lord Malnice?" she asked, peeking inside carefully.

Lord Malnice looked up from a book he had been reading, narrowing his eyes angrily. He snapped the book shut and stood up, motioning for Kreeth to approach him. Kreeth walked forward slowly, making sure to leave the door ajar just in case she had to make a quick getaway. She stopped a few feet away from Lord Malnice and bowed, dragging her wings across the floor as a sign of respect.

"My Lord Malnice, I have a report for you on Doctor Beck's progress." she said carefully, standing up straight again.

"Yes, General?" Lord Malnice eyed her sternly, sensing her anxiety.

"Beck and most of his pack are dead. Only one survivor returned, and he is now dead as well. 85-21 and his little group are headed toward the Cave of Mazes."

Lord Malnice watched her through narrowed eyes for a moment, then sighed and turned away, shaking his head. He held his arms behind his back and strode over to one of the large windows in the chamber. He stared out at the camp in silence for several minutes, and Kreeth shifted uncomfortably as she waited for him to say something.

"General Kreeth." Lord Malnice suddenly broke the increasingly awkward silence.

"Yes, my lord?" Kreeth answered quickly.

"Come here for a moment."

Kreeth strode over to him, and he nodded at the window.

"What do you see, General?" Lord Malnice asked quietly.

Kreeth stared carefully out at the camp, wondering in silent panic what she was supposed to be seeing. Nothing looked particularly interesting to her. All she saw were a few buildings and avians wandering around and going about their daily business.

"I see your citizens going about their daily business, my lord." Kreeth tried, glancing over at him.

Lord Malnice nodded slowly, allowing the ghost of a smile to cross his lips.

"That's one way to put it. I see order. An order, General, that it is your job to help me keep under control. Allowing traitors to escape is _not _order. If you cannot do your job, Kreeth, then you are no longer of any use to me." Lord Malnice turned toward her menacingly, his rabid-dog eyes gleaming with anger.

Kreeth was frozen in place by shock and fear as Lord Malnice drew his sword from the scabbard on his side. She shook herself from her trance just in time to avoid being sliced in half. The enraged man bared his teeth and jabbed at her with the weapon, and she barely managed to sidestep out of the way. He swung the sword down in an arc, this time cutting a few feathers off of her left wing.

"Wait, please, my lord! I have an idea!" Kreeth yelped, jumping as far away from him as she could manage.

Lord Malnice paused, watching her for any sign of trickery. Seeing none, he lowered the sword, but did not put it away. General Kreeth allowed herself to relax, albeit only a little bit, and returned to her confident facade.

"What is your plan, General?" Lord Malnice asked calmly, almost as if he had not just attempted to end her life.

"We send Penryck after them, my lord. This would be an easy matter for him to resolve. He could not possibly fail." Kreeth answered proudly, her feathers puffing up a bit.

"You want to send my best warrior after them?"

Kreeth nodded, and Lord Malnice scowled at her thoughtfully. Penryck would surely find the task more than easy, that was certain. However, Malnice was uneasy with the idea of sending his best warrior so far away. If something were to happen while he was gone, Lord Malnice would have to defend himself. He was decent with a sword, but even he would admit that his skills were nothing compared to Penryck's.

"Hmmm...it seems like it's worth a shot. Fine, you have my permission to send Penryck after 85-21 and his posse. However, if this fails, you will suffer the _severest _of penalties. Understood, general?" Lord Malnice drummed his fingers along the hilt of his sword threateningly, making sure his meaning was clear.

Kreeth nodded, and Lord Malnice excused her from the room, watching her power walk away with cold eyes. Kreeth left the palace as quickly as possible without making her fear obvious to the palace guards, who eyed her blankly from their positions along the walls. She smiled softly to herself once she was back outside, glad to have made it out alive, albeit with a few less feathers. She smirked softly to herself as she began a brisk yet stately walk toward Penryck's house. She waved at the avians she passed on the way, understanding the importance of public relations to maintaining order very well by now. However, she blatantly ignored any non-avian hybrid that she passed, prisoners being moved by Armiso's cronies, or servants sent to fetch things for their masters.

After a few minutes of walking, Kreeth found herself as the door of a small, simple-looking stone house. She put on her best fake smile and knocked, rocking impatiently on her heels as she waiting for someone to answer. After a moment's wait, the door was slowly pulled open. A young avian woman looked out at the general from the door, her light-brown feathered wings drooping a bit in disappointment when she saw the foul crow. She was a pretty creature, with soft brown eyes and long blonde hair that fell in a curtain over her shoulders. She wore a much-to-large green dress, loose to fit her round stomach as it grew with her pregnancy.

"General Kreeth. What an honor it is to have you visit us." the woman said, bowing as low as her swollen stomach would allow her.

"Oh, Gilia, dear! Don't trouble yourself with such formalities in your state, you're going to hurt yourself!" Kreeth crooned at her, entering the house without even the pretense of being invited.

Gilia barely managed to hide her irritation behind a thankful smile before leading Kreeth into the kitchen. She walked slowly to the wood stove and began to boil some water for tea as the general sat down at the wooden table.

"My, Gilia, you are looking well. How far along are you now?" Kreeth asked, casting a glance at the woman's belly with amusement.

"Almost six months now." Gilia answered, sitting carefully at the other end of the table.

"How delightful. I'm sure Penryck must be very proud."

"Yes, elated. He grows more and more excited with each passing day."

"Good, good. If I may ask, dear, where is your husband? I have business with him that needs to be attended to with haste." Kreeth leaned back, finally done with the necessary niceties and delving into the real reason that she had come. Gilia sensed this, and her smile hardened into a slightly disdainful and tart expression.

"He went to go and get some firewood. We were running low, and it gets very cold in here at night. He should be home any minute now." she replied, standing as the tea kettle shrieked.

"Excellent."

Gilia poured the general a cup of tea while she waited, which the horrid crow accepted with a false smile. Kreeth sipped at the tea thoughtfully, her eyes locked on the front door. She ignored Gilia as footsteps echoed on the other side of the thin wooden door. A small, cruel smile crawled across the general's face as the door swung open and Penryck walked into the room.

Penryck was a tall, lean man, with strong shoulders and sun-darkened skin. He wore a pair of tattered dark blue jeans and a loose white tunic over his muscular chest. He had short, shaggy blonde hair and sharp gold eyes shining with intelligence. His wings and tail feathers were a dark golden-red, the feathers of a hawk. He smiled when he saw his wife, then allowed it to fall a little when the general came into view.

"General Kreeth, what a surprise." he commented blandly, walking to Gilia's side and kissing her cheek.

"Indeed. Forgive me, Penryck, but we don't have time for idle chatter. I have an assignment for you." Kreeth said with a note of harshness.

"As I thought. What do you want?" Penryck shot back rudely, ignoring Gilia's warning glance.

Kreeth smirked and clicked her tongue at his rudeness.

"Tut tut, Penryck. Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners? There's no need to be snarky. At any rate, I have an assignment for you from Lord Malnice." She said calmly.

"From Lord Malnice?" Penryck asked, sitting down across from the general as Gilia poured him some tea.

"Yes." Kreeth's countenance didn't change at all as she answered him; she was an expert liar. The assignment was hers, not Lord Malnice's, but Penryck only took orders from their leader.

"Very well, then. What does my lord require of me?" Penryck responded slowly.

"Your orders are to find 85-21 and anyone who is helping him, and kill them. Understood?"

Penryck tensed and cast Gilia a disappointed glance.

"I...of course, General Kreeth. Where were they last spotted?" he asked hesitantly.

"Near the Cave of Mazes, a few days ago. It is assumed they are traveling somewhere on the other side of the cave. Kill them before they get to where ever they are going."

Kreeth stood briskly and walked to the door, pulling it open with a violent jerk.

"General, when am I to leave?" Penryck asked before she could leave.

"Immediately."

Within the blink of an eye the general was gone, the door slamming loudly behind her. Penryck sat in silence for a few minutes, staring at his sword, which hung on the opposite wall. Gilia watched him for a moment, then walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him carefully. He looked up at her and gave a tiny, sorrowful smile.

"How are you feeling today, love?" he asked, leaning slightly into her embrace.

"I'm very tired, but otherwise fine. I just...I wish you didn't have to go. If Lord Malnice was worth anything, he'd give you a few months off to spend with your child, once they arrive." Gilia responded bitterly.

"Be careful, my love. You don't want anyone to hear you say such things about Lord Malnice. But, I agree." Penryck stood carefully and hugged her.

"Be careful, Penryck. I really wish Kreeth could do this horrible deed herself. I rather liked 85-21. He hated this place just as much as we do." Gilia sighed and looked up into her husband's gold eyes.

"I liked him as well, but an order is an order. I am powerless to resist it. I promise to return to you whole and undamaged." Penryck gave her a reassuring grin.

"That's a promise I expect you to keep, my love. Too many children in this wretched organization are left fatherless by this awful war." Gilia pushed free of Penryck's strong arms and sat down in a large armchair in the small living room nearby.

Penryck nodded quietly and left the room to pack his things. He returned a few minutes later, carrying a brown backpack over his shoulder. A leather scabbard was strapped to his waist, jiggling as he walked over to the sword mounted on the wall. He carefully took the gleaming steel blade down and examined it, his eyes dim with sadness.

"85-21 made this for me. Remember, love?" he asked quietly, turning to look at Gilia with a thoughtful look.

"Yes, I remember." Gilia answered just as softly, yawning tiredly.

"Then I find it only appropriate to end it with this. He loved forging and flames more than anything else, even though he hated the cause. What do you think?"

"I wish you didn't have to kill him, or anyone for that matter, at all."

Penryck sighed and sheathed the weapon, then strode quickly to his wife's side. He bent and gave her a quick kiss before jogging out of the door. He heard it slam behind him as he opened his wings and took off, rocketing up into the darkening evening sky. Once he had gotten as high up as he wanted to, he hovered in midair and dug around in his pocket for the map he had made certain he had snatched up from his bedside table. He narrowed his eyes at the tattered piece of paper as he searched for the Cave of Mazes, allowing a small snort of recognition to escape his throat when he found it. He sighed and stuffed the map back into his pocket before cutting a wide arc in the sky and beginning his journey toward the caves.


	14. Into The Caves

**Into the Caves**

"I can't believe that actually worked!" Torin managed to exclaim in exhaustion, glancing over his shoulder at the entrance to the cave.

"Of courssssse it worked. Now we jussst need to get to the other sssside before they catch usssss, ssso I sssssuggessssst that we keep moving." Silth hissed from his perch on Kitsune's shoulder.

Slonk hissed in agreement, sitting comfortably on Kitsune's other shoulder as the group ran through the cave. The walls were made of jagged brown rock, and water dripped from the ceiling as the group ran farther and farther from the entrance. The air smelled faintly of moss and mold, and it was very cold and damp within the large cavern. Small gaps in the roof of the cave allowed thin shafts of light into the dark world below, but even these were gone within a few minutes of frantic running.

"Guys, I can hardly see anything." Kitsune complained softly, slowing to a walk.

"I brought a lantern." Torin said quickly, pulling a rusty silver oil lantern from his backpack.

Torin lit the lantern quickly and held it up, looking around at the walls of the cavern. The glittering brown and gray walls reflected the light back at them, and the group looked around in wonder. Massive chunks of rock hung from the ceiling and stuck up from the ground.

"Good idea, Torin. Running in to one of those would not have been fun." Verte said softly, running a hand over the bumpy surface of one of the rocks.

"Neither will being caught by the other reptilianssss. They won't be happy once they find that we knocked the other guard out, ssssso move." Slonk hissed, and the group set out at a brisk run again.

As the group ran, the walls began to look less rough and more patterned. They became slick and shiny, looking almost man-made. The group looked around in wonder, their footsteps slowing to a walk again. Kitsune walked next to one of the walls and ran her hand over it, blinking in surprise at the cool smoothness of the rock beneath her fingers.

"Did people do this?" she asked, examining the wall carefully.

"No, the water did. Over hundredssss, maybe even thoussssandsssss of yearsssss, the force of the water trickling over the wallssss ssssmoothed them out. It really is quite fasssscinating." Slonk answered with a nervous glance behind them.

"Yes, quite. Now, let's get going. I really don't want to get caught by those reptilians." Borea said nervously, tugging at Kitsune's arm.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming. Relax, Borea, we'll be fine. It will take us about two days to get through these caves if we stop to rest, so we won't be here for long if we don't stop to sleep." Kitsune smiled at her reassuringly.

"Or get lost. They call this place The Cave of Mazes for a reason. Look." Torin pointed ahead of them, and the group turned to see what he was pointing at.

Ahead, the path that they had been following split into several different tunnels, all branching out in different directions. The tunnels all looked almost exactly alike, and none of them gave any hint as to which one they should follow. Verte sighed and walked to the entrance to the one on the far left.

"I guess we do this through trial and error, then. Let's go down this one first." he said in frustration, starting down the tunnel.

"We could do that. Or we could go down the one three tunnelssss to the right of that one, the one that will take ussss to the other ssssside. Sssslonk and I have been through thessse cavess enough to know where to go." Silth hissed with an amused grin.

Verte grumbled under his breath as the others chuckled at him and started down the tunnel Silth had mentioned. They traveled in silence for a while, following Torin and his lantern, the serpent brothers now sitting comfortably on his shoulders. Borea followed close behind, glancing around with wide, nervous eyes. The tunnel bent and curved like the body of a massive snake, plunging the group deeper and deeper into the darkness. Kitsune and Verte fell into step next to one another, a few yards back from the others. Kitsune glanced over at the former blacksmith, the lantern far ahead casting a dim yellow light over his figure. He noticed her glance and cast her a weary smile.

"Enjoying the view?" he asked slyly, winking at her.

"Not as much as the young avian women who brought you your meals at the camp did." Kitsune replied calmly, and Verte chuckled at her words.

"Whew, cold as the winter wind, aren't you?"

"Having my village destroyed has put me in a foul mood for flirting, Verte."

Verte sighed at this, and they fell into an awkward silence until he ventured to break it.

"How did you, Borea, and Torin know each other before Kreeth showed up?" he asked curiously.

Kitsune smiled softly and nodded.

"I expected you to ask that much earlier. Borea and I have been friends since childhood. When we were little, we were neighbors until she and her family moved to the other end of town. We would play together almost every day." she explained quietly.

"And Torin?"

"We met when I was twelve, he was thirteen. His family moved into a house nearby, and my parents sent me to take them one of my Mother's famous blueberry pies. They were known for being very sweet. Anyway, Torin answered the door when I knocked, and we talked for a little bit. We soon became friends, as did he and Borea. However, as you have noticed, Torin can be violent, and bears grudges. If one of us upset him somehow, he wouldn't speak to us for days. It was kind of childish." Kitsune replied, less quiet than before.

"I heard that!" Torin called back at her over his shoulder, shooting Verte a glare in the process.

"You were supposed to." Kitsune answered playfully, and he grunted and turned away from her in reply.

Silence resumed for almost an hour, until the group turned a corner and entered a massive bulge in the tunnel. The walls were no longer lined with the dripped gray stone from before, but now with dazzling gemstones and chunks of crystal. Brilliant shades of blue, green, purple, orange, and red glittered from the walls and ceiling as the light from Torin's lantern reflected off of the damp surface of the beautiful stones. On the opposite end of this gleaming bulge, the tunnel continued in cold, gray darkness. Along the edge of one of the walls near the dark continuation of the tunnel was a pool of water, a couple of yards wide and appearing to be bottomless in depth.

Kitsune's eyes lit up like small blue stars, and she walked as if in a trance to one of the bejeweled walls. She stood a few feet from the edge of the deep pool of cloudy water and reached out to the wall, tracing the edge of a small orange gem. Silth and Slonk watched her closely, lifting themselves up to get a better look.

"These are lovely. How did they get here?" Kitsune whispered, staring almost unblinkingly at the gleaming stones.

"No one is really sssssure, but they are quite pretty." Silth hissed, relaxing a bit.

"Folklore about thesssse cavesss sssssay that a long time ago, a mighty dragon hoarded these gemsss here to impressssss a potential mate." Slonk added with amusement, flicking his forked tongue at her.

"That's preposterous, that is."

The group jumped and spun to look behind them at the sound of the unfamiliar, archaic voice, but there was nothing behind them.

"I'm down here. Hmph, and I thought _I _was the blind one here."

The group turned toward the pool of water near the tunnel's edge to see an elderly-looking fish hybrid, his head, neck, and shoulders protruding from the water. His wrinkled skin was a pale green, and hung off of his frail-looking body in flaps. He had no hair, his head a shiny green dome, and he had thick, fish-like lips. Two long, thin whiskers hung down from under the two slit nostrils above his lips like a rubbery mustache, and he smirked to reveal that his teeth were very blunt and worn. He had three flaps behind each side of his jaw, twitching slightly; gills. His tiny, black eyes were clouded with a milky white film. He wore a tattered gray shirt over his thin chest, and it bore many holes and frayed strings. His lower half looked completely like that of a large fish, the small scales a dull moss green. His tail fin was frayed and torn, and swayed in what looked like a weak underwater current. The man sat in silence, waiting for one of them to speak patiently.

"Excuse me, sir, but who are you?" Borea asked carefully, and the man turned to face her.

"I could ask you lot the same question. Who, and what, are you?" he rasped back at her, crossing his thin arms over his chest and flexing his webbed fingers slowly.

"I'm Borea, a bat hybrid. Torin is a raccoon, Kitsune is a jackal, Silth and Slonk are snakes, and Verte is an owl." Borea answered timidly.

"Five of you, eh? Well, I'm Tobias, and I'm a blind cave fish." the old man answered, relaxing a bit.

"Blind? Were you born blind?" Torin asked.

"All of us are born blind, young 'un. In a cave that's dark almost all the time, who needs eyes? We use these to sense our way around." Tobias answered, twirling one of his whiskers around one of his bony fingers.

"What was it that you said before, about the myth about these gems being preposterous?" Kitsune asked, bending to pick up a blue gem that had fallen to the cave floor.

"No dragon did this, little lady. It's simple science. Pressure put on the rocks over a very long time turns them into a crystallized form. They've probably been here for hundreds of years, hiding from the cruel world of the outside." Tobias replied with a knowledgeable smile.

"Is that what you and however many others of you have been doing? Hiding in here, away from the pain of a world that needs people to band together to fight for it?" Torin growled, taking a challenging step forward.

Tobias turned abruptly toward him and scowled, wrinkling his brow.

"We would be of no use to anyone, being blind. Our species retreated into the shadows of cave pools and water flooded chasms to escape the sunlight. We want nothing to do with the events going on out there, in the light." he tried to explain, but Torin would have none of it.

"There's a war going on out there! People, innocent lives, are being destroyed! And you're doing nothing about it!" he spat at the aquatarian, who snorted in return.

"What do you expect us to do, boy? We are trapped by the edges of this pool, we can no longer swim freely between cave and lake. We've been left behind by our fear of the Sun, and cannot help you. I'm sorry, but there is nothing we of these cold cavern waters can do to help you. All I can do is wish that this war ends soon." Tobias said sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry we bothered you, sir." Kitsune said quickly, pulling Torin away before he could spit another rude remark at he elderly hybrid.

"It was no bother. I enjoy having guests in the caves, it provides different conversation. Please return to visit me at some time." Tobias waved and turned, diving back into the bitter cold waters he called home.

Kitsune turned and glared at Torin, smacking him hard in the back of the head. He flinched and rubbed his head, glaring back at her.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?" he growled at her snappishly.

"You had no reason to bite his head off for something that he cannot control, Torin! You need to learn that not everyone who doesn't or can't help you is your enemy!" Kitsune snapped back at him.

"If they aren't with us, then they are useless to us. Why don't you understand that?"

"Because it isn't true. No one is useless."

Torin glared at her angrily, then snorted and stormed away, starting down the tunnel. Borea sighed and followed, while Kitsune stood and glared at Torin's back. Verte walked up to her side and stared at her in silence, then carefully took her hand in his. She jumped a bit and looked at him, and he gave her a reassuring look before motioning to the disappearing light of the lantern. She nodded, and they jogged to catch up to the others.


	15. Black Fog

**Black Fog**

Thick gray clouds hung up in the dismal black sky, showering the group with stinging cold pellets of heavy rain. It felt like needles of ice spearing their exposed flesh, and they shivered helplessly as they walked. They had successfully evaded the reptilians, who they weren't even sure had pursued them at all, and had been wandering from the exit to the Cave of Mazes for four days. The landscape on the other side of the cave was very different from the forest that had led them to its beginning. There were very few trees, and those that were present were small and stunted. The ground was very dry and dusty, and covered with a low layer of dried grass and small shrubs. The rain appeared to be much-needed, for the dry ground soaked it up like a sponge.

The group trudged along at a miserable pace, staring ahead of them in silence. Ever since their argument in the caves, Kitsune and Torin refused to speak to one another, and avoided one another as much as possible. Torin walked in an angry silence, his shoulders hunched up in a tense posture. Silth and Slonk sought refuge from the chill of the rain under his purple hat, peeking out every once in a while to taste the air before vanishing back into his thick black hair. Borea glanced back and forth between Torin and Kitsune nervously. She had desperately been trying to convince them to speak to one another, but each of them demanded an apology from the other, and refused to give one. Kitsune was miserable, water dripping off of her pointed black ears, her tail almost dragging along the ground. Verte noticed her discomfort and immediately opened one of his wings, holding it over her like an umbrella. Kitsune smiled thankfully, but it faded when Torin growled in irritation.

"Verte, you great stupid pigeon, water is running off of your wing onto me! Fold the damn thing back up!" he snarled, baring his teeth at the avian bitterly.

"Kit's getting soaked." Verte replied lamely, not even attempting to fold his offending wing.

"We're _all _getting soaked, idiot. She can suffer with the rest of us." Torin snapped and tried to grab Verte's wing.

Verte immediately swung his wing away and glared at the angry raccoon hybrid. Torin glared back, and the tension in the air was as thick as a suffocating fog. Torin slowly removed his hat and scooped the serpent brothers up in it, handing them to Borea while never looking away from Verte. Verte saw his intention and tensed, stepping away from Kitsune to keep her out of the way. Both young men handed their backpacks to one of the women and stood opposite to one another. Torin bared his teeth and puffed up the fur on his tail, trying to intimidate his opponent. Verte smirked, his visible green eye glinting and his wings and tail puffing up, making him look much larger than he actually was.

"It's about time someone taught you your manners, Torin." Verte taunted.

"Alright, bitch, come at me." Torin barked, not in the mood for clever banter.

Verte was only to happy to oblige, and sprang like a cat at Torin. Torin jumped at him, and they collided mid-jump with a loud thump. Borea shrieked and Kitsune flinched when the two hit the ground and began pummeling each other with punches, kicks, and scratches. Torin pinned Verte to the ground and hit him a few times, then Verte used his back legs to throw the man off of him. Torin hit the ground a few feet away with a grunt, and Verte tackled him, sending them rolling down the side of a hill. Mud caked their bodies as they wrestled and fought. Borea and Kitsune watched them for a few moments in stunned silence before Kitsune sighed, then walked down the hill toward them. She growled and struck both men across the face, making sure to let her small but sharp claws graze across their cheeks and leave thin scratch marks. They stopped and blinked at her in surprise as she snarled angrily at them, looking fierce.

"Look at us, arguing and fighting like children! This is pathetic! We have a common enemy, we should be focusing on fighting them, not each other! Now, get up! It's cold, raining, and we're all tired! The sooner we make it to the City of Many Truths, the better." Kitsune growled and stormed away, carrying Verte's bag and walking in the general direction that the city was rumored to be with Borea and the serpents close behind.

Verte and Torin stared after them in shocked silence for a few moments, then turned to look at one another. They exchanged a quick nod, an unspoken truce, and jumped up to hurry after them. The group traveled on, relaxing a bit in their pace once the rain stopped. When night fell, they set up camp and built a small, rather pathetic fire. They sat in contemplative silence as Borea slow-cooked two large rabbits that Torin had caught the night before. Verte stared deep into the tiny little fire, watching the tongues of flame leap up to caress the sides of the roasting rabbits. He leaned forward a little as an image began to form in the flames, and the others paused in their activities to watch the former blacksmith's strange behavior.

"Verte, what are you doing?" Borea asked curiously, looking from him to the fire and back.

"Shhh!" Verte hissed back, not tearing his eyes away from the fire; he had not seen anything in the flames in a couple of weeks, and was anxious as to what they had to tell him.

Borea fell silent, and she and the others watched in silence as Verte's eyes seemed to glaze over. They could see the flames reflected in the deep green pool of the eye that was not hidden by his thick black hair, and could vaguely tell that something unnatural was happening. Verte ignored their cautious stares and let the power of the flames consume his thoughts, not sparing any attention for anything else. He watched as a faded image began to form in the heart of the fire, growing brighter as the tense moments passed. It was the Ibis head that had given him the cryptic message about the City of Many Truths in the forge, in profile and moving its long beak stiffly.

"What is it? What else do you have to tell me?" Verte whispered softly, not noticing the looks of confusion spread across his now worried friend's faces.

The Ibis faded away slowly, and was replaced by letters burning a bright white. Verte squinted as he tried to read them, the brightness and heat of the fire stinging his eyes and making them water. He mouthed the words to himself, then leaned back and blinked in surprise.

"I never thought Malnice would go that far. That's quite the risk, and a big problem for us." he said to no one in particular, drumming his fingers on his lap as he thought.

"What in the hell are you talking about?" Slonk asked, slithering up to his side.

"Lord Malnice has sent Penryck after us." the avian answered simply, tearing his burning eyes away from the flames and blinking heavily.

"Penryck? You mentioned him to me once, when we were still with the Knights, but I don't remember who he was." Kitsune said quietly, scooting closer to him.

"Penryck is Lord Malnice's best warrior. He's fast, smart, and incredible with a sword. He's also going to be a major problem for us. He's a Red-Tailed Hawk hybrid, and a damned fast flier. We have to get to the city, and soon, because killing him will be no easy task. He makes Beck's pack look like a bunch of Shih-Tzu puppies." Verte explained, and Kitsune's face drained of its color at the thought.

"Wait a second there, pigeon. How do you know that this Penryck or whatever his name is is coming after us?" Torin growled at him, using a torn piece of cloth to polish his metal wings as he spoke.

Verte didn't answer for a few minutes. He had kept his firesight secret for all of his life, not even telling his parents when they were still around. A part of him wanted to carry his secret to the grave, never giving up that vital piece of his being. Yet, another part felt as if his friends needed to know about his strange ability; especially Kitsune. She had been the one to give him the hope and reassurance that he needed to discover his name and regain his free will. He felt as if he owed her everything, but there was something more to it than that, something deeper that he did not quite understand. He had a creeping suspicion as to what this deeper reason was, and it brought a tint of pink to his face every time that seemingly simple idea rose into his thoughts.

"Hello, anyone in there?" Slonk hissed, bumping his head against the side of Verte's leg.

Verte flinched a little and looked down at the small serpent, his train of thought derailing and running off of its tracks into an imaginary tree.

"Ah, erm...yeah, sorry. This may be a little difficult to explain, and perhaps even harder to understand." Verte looked at each of his friends in turn and, seeing that they were all leaning forward curiously toward him, continued.

"Okay, then. When I was seven, my parents and I were captured by The Knights of the Sky. They threatened to kill us if we did not help them, so my parents began their training. My father was trained as a warrior, a swordsman to be more specific, and my mother was a field medic. They went on all of their missions together, and were always successful, even though they hated their foul work. I was put in the care of an avian woman named Cooky, who now serves as the head chef for the Knights. She soon noticed that I had a strange love for fire. She ran a type of child care facility, you see, and took care of the children of the warriors while they were away. While most of the children played together, I sat near the hearth and stared into the fire.

Well, Cooky reported my behavior to one of the generals, I suspect it was Kreeth, and they petitioned Malnice to let me get a beginner's apprenticeship with the blacksmiths that forged the weapons that they used. They never seemed to have enough, and soon my apprenticeship began. That is also when I first noticed my firesight." Verte paused to drink from his canteen of water.

"What's firesight?" Borea asked impatiently.

"It's difficult to explain, as I made up the term myself. You see, sometimes when I stare deep into a fire and let my mind go blank, I see images in the fire. They are always very fuzzy and faded, and it is hard to tell for certain what they are most of the time. I see images having to do with the past, present, or future, but I can never be sure which is which. All I know is that it is very odd. That's why I've never told anyone about it because I didn't want the Knights to find some way to use for it. I'm still very wary of telling anyone about it, really. I've been hoarding this secret for so long that it has become a vital part of my being. Telling you all about it almost feels like I'm giving you a piece of who I am." Verte fell silent, shuddering at the thought.

"So, I guess you saw something in the fire that let you know that Penryck was coming after us. But, I thought you said the images were fuzzy and hard to understand?" Kitsune asked, tilting her head to one side in confusion.

Verte's face reddened slightly, and he looked away to hide it; she looked so _damn _cute!

"Usually they are, but ever since you gave me this necklace, my visions have been very clear. I've seen an Ibis' head outlined in blue flames, with beady green eyes. It seems to be trying to talk to me, then it vanishes and words in white appear where it was. That was how I first got a hint about The City of Many Truths." he said slowly, furrowing his brow.

"What did this last message say?" Torin asked, his voice devoid of the venom it usually held when he spoke to Verte.

"Your journey is almost at an end, and yet you must not slow. A swordsman pursues on blood-red wings, a man that you well know." Verte answered in a mystical tone.

The group sat and allowed the mysterious words sink in, then Borea smiled and looked at Kitsune.

"Well, it looks like the necklace you gave him did its job. Good thing for us." she said with a grin.

"What are you talking about? What does this Thoth necklace have to do with my firesight?" it was Verte's turn to be confused, tugging the necklace out from under his shirt to stare down at it.

"Ah, that...well, now it's my turn to struggle to explain something supernatural. Well, according to my Mother, both of these necklaces have a special power. The Thoth necklace that I gave you is supposed to enhance a person's most special and unique ability. For you, I guess that would be your firesight." Kitsune explained as best as she could.

"Okay...so, what does the Anubis necklace do?"

"Yes, well...it does the opposite of what the Thoth necklace does. It suppresses someone's unique ability."

"Why would you want to suppress something that is part of who you are? Your abilities are a vital piece of your being, you shouldn't hide them."

Kitsune blushed shamefully and looked away, rubbing her arm awkwardly.

"Erm...let's just say that if this necklace is ever taken off of my neck, people are going to die. My ability is not a blessing, like yours, but is a curse. I cannot control it, so I use this necklace to keep it in check." she replied slowly.

Verte nodded his understanding, ignoring his burning curiosity to know exactly what Kitsune was talking about. He knew that it was best not to pry in something so personal. Plus, Kitsune seemed ashamed of whatever this terrible curse was, and he did not want to force her to dwell on it.

"Alright. Let's get these rabbits down, I bet they're done by now." he smiled and carefully pulled the spit away from the fire.

They waited for a few minutes before tearing the two rabbits into six chunks and beginning to eat. The only sounds heard were the crackling of the fire, the calls of night time creatures, and the sounds of the group hurriedly tearing into their food. Silth and Slonk opened their jaws wide and swallowed their pieces whole, ignoring the slightly queasy looks Borea shot at them. Once they finished their food and tossed the bones aside, they curled up to sleep. Verte rolled over onto his side and looked over at Kitsune, who had curled up around herself. He allowed a small smile to cross his lips as she stretched and yawned, then turned away and allowed sleep to take him.

He woke a few hours later, blinking up at the dark night sky and unsure as to what had woken him. He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes and yawning drowsily.

"You too, huh, pigeon?"

Verte looked over to see Torin sitting several feet away from the smoldering coals that still burned a little on the ground, smirking softly over at him. Verte stood up and stretched his wings, groaning and popping his back. He then sighed and walked over to where Torin was sitting, plopping down on the patch of grass a few feet away from him. Torin smirked wider and leaned back, using his hands to hold him up.

"So, pigeon, what has you awake at such an hour?" Torin asked softly, not wanting to wake the others up.

"I'm not really sure. I just woke up." Verte answered, ruffling his own hair.

"Worried about Penryck, or what Kitsune's little curse-thing could be?"

"Hmm...both, I guess. What is Kit's curse?"

Torin yawned and stretched, the fur on his ringed tail standing on end as he did so.

"I don't know much about it, sadly. She told me once that it was some sort of very serious mutation in her animalistic DNA, much like the twins over there. Kitsune's little problem seems to be more severe than Silth and Slonk's, even though theirs left only their ability to speak and think making them different from full-blooded snakes. Whatever Kit's problem is, I suggest that we make sure that that Anubis necklace stays firmly clasped around her pretty little neck." Torin chuckled somewhat darkly and glanced at Verte with a knowing look.

Verte cast him a somewhat confused glance.

"Heh, don't play dumb with me, Verte. I have seen the glances you cast at Kitsune, the little moments of poetic sweetness that you exhibit for her. Like the stunt you pulled with your wing earlier today. You may not be fully aware, or even mostly aware, of what is going on. But I know very well what is starting to happen here, and I plan on keeping a close eye on the whole situation." Torin grinned and nodded in Kitsune's general direction.

"I'm afraid I'm not at all aware of what you are talking about, honestly." Verte replied indignantly, looking over at the young woman's sleeping form.

"I don't believe a word of that. Verte, I'm going to be nice and tell you exactly what is happening to you. You, my winged friend, are falling for her. Slowly, yes, but quite hard as well."

Verte bared his teeth at him and rustled his feathers, glaring at the raccoon hybrid in slight annoyance.

"That's ridiculous. There is to much going on right now for me to even bother to allow myself to fall in love." he growled.

"Ah, that's bullshit and you know it. I say go for it, personally. Kitsune's not very confident with herself, and not a good fighter, but she makes up for this with her kindness and intelligence. She's a good girl, pigeon." Torin replied , looking at him with a smile.

Verte blinked at him in surprise.

"Hold on. I...I thought you hated me!" he whispered intensely.

"I don't _hate _you, pigeon. I just dislike you a lot. Besides, I believe that Kitsune is starting to develop feelings for you as well. If you are what makes her happy, then I will tolerate you. However, if you hurt her in any way, I won't think twice about separating head from shoulders. Got it?" Torin cast him a quick smile.

"Heh heh, deal." Verte smirked and looked up into the clear black sky, letting his eyes wander over the bright white pinpricks of the stars.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, quietly observing the nature around them. Verte began to grow drowsy again, and his eyelids grew heavy. Torin looked over at him and allowed his signature smirk to cross his lips.

"Go to bed, pigeon." he spoke softly and let his his gaze wander up toward the stars.

"Why are you awake at this hour?" Verte asked, standing again.

"Lets just say that there are a few good reasons for why I do not like you, Verte. I once loved Kitsune as well, but that faded away long ago. Yet, I am still very protective of her. Seeing her grow so close to you, a former member of the Knights and the man who forged the fireclaws that destroyed our village. I don't want to see her get hurt any more. That, my feathered friend, is why I am taking a rather long time to warm up to you. Thinking about that, as well as our journey to the city, has kept me from sleeping. Now, go to sleep. We will need to move quickly if we are to avoid Penryck." Torin nodded at him and motioned for Verte to go back to bed.

Verte watched him for a moment, the wordlessly walked back to his spot on the ground. He lied down and pulled his thick dark green blanket over himself. He cast one more look over at Torin, then rolled over and closed his eyes. He sighed and thought over what Torin had said, blushing when he came to their discussion of Kitsune. He groaned and shook his head, then pushed the thoughts away to allow himself to return to sleep. Within a few minutes, he had succeeded.


	16. The City of Many Truths

Author's note- I would like to take the time to dedicate this next chapter to Brittany Kay, an awesome fan on White Kyurem who not only made me one AWESOME fansign, but has also been an avid reader since I began posting! Thank you for the support, and I hope you continue enjoying my work!*

**The City of Many Truths**

A light breeze blew over the grasses of the savannah, stirring them around in gently flowing patches. The sky was clear, and the Sun burned harshly from its perch in the vast blueness above. The group flew high above the ground, wanting to get to The City of Many Truths as quickly as possible. Kitsune clung to Verte's shoulders as they flew, twitching her ears around, trying to listen for any sounds that would alert them to the location of the city. Unfortunately, the high-pitched squeaking of Torin's man-made wings made this difficult.

"Is there anything you can do about that noise, Torin?" Kitsune yelled back at him in exasperation.

"Unless you want me to run along the ground after you guys, no. Besides, I think the twins are enjoying the sky to much for me to do that." he yelled back, pointing to the serpents on his shoulders.

Silth and Slonk were perched happily on Torin's shoulders, clinging to his shirt tightly with their coiled bodies as he flew. They were grinning and hissing in excitement, looking around with the large yellow eye that was not covered in a black eye patch. They had never flown before, and seemed to be having a wonderful time of it, peeking out from around Torin's shoulder to look down at the ground. They would stare down at it for a moment, then quickly retract their heads and hiss to each other about what a fall from such a height would do to them. Torin would chuckle at their morbid game, and sometimes would roll his shoulders to startle the brothers.

"Ssssstop doing that!" Slonk complained after Torin did this for perhaps the one-hundredth time that day.

Everyone except for Kitsune and Slonk chuckled; Kitsune was to busy trying to hear the city. She froze as a tiny hint of a sound hit her ears. She looked down, but saw nothing but savannah, which continued into what looked like a swamp, then a huge mountain range. She twitched her ears around a bit, confused, then tapped Verte on the side. He looked back at her curiously.

"What is it? Hear something?" he asked, and the rest of the group fell silent.

"Yeah, but I can't really tell what it is. Fly toward those mountains over there. It should only take a little while to get there." Kitsune replied, pointing toward the mountains.

Verte nodded and sped up eagerly, rocketing ahead of the others. They flew hard at the mountains, and soon the ground beneath them turned from dry savannah to marshlands. The ground was a deep brown, with spots where thick Mangrove Trees grew in large clumps. Brackish gray water flowed around these trees, and a flock of white herons flew over the muddy-looking ground. Kitsune smiled softly as the herons rose up and flew by, only a few yards beneath them. She then returned her gaze to the approaching mountains.

"It looks like we're getting pretty close. Maybe the city is at the base of the mountains." Kitsune murmured, looking over her shoulder to see that the others were two dots far behind them.

"Yeah, maybe. I guess we'll soon find out." Verte panted heavily as he flew, tiring himself out with his frantic pace.

"Slow down, Verte. The others are way behind us."

"Nah, only a couple hundred fe-!" his words were cut short.

Without warning, Verte slammed into some sort of invisible force in the air with a loud, surprised grunt. He fluttered his wings in confusion as they began plummeting toward the ground. He felt his consciousness trying to slip away from him; whatever they had hit, they had hit it hard. A startled yelp and the lack of weight on his back shook him from nearly blacking out, and he looked around to see that Kitsune was several feet below him, and falling fast. She flailed about in complete panic, her eyes wide and a loud scream issuing from her lips.

"SHIT!" He screeched and folded his wings, shooting toward her like an arrow.

When he got close enough to her he reached out and took her hands, pulling her against his chest and opening his wings. They were falling fast, and were quickly approaching the ground. With a few powerful wing beats he managed to stop them just a few yards above the ground before carefully landing. As soon as her feet touched the marshy soil, Kitsune gasped and collapsed to her knees, panting. Verte stood shakily above her for a moment, then knelt down to her level.

"Are you alright?" he asked softly, wrapping an arm around her.

"_That's_ why I'm afraid of heights!" Kitsune hissed back, and he couldn't help but smile.

"Well, _that_ usually doesn't happen. What the hell was that?"

"I don't have the slightest idea."

"Oh my God, are you two okay?" Borea's voice came from behind them.

"Yeah. A little shaken, and I'm going to be sore for a while, but we're fine." Verte answered, helping Kitsune up and turning toward them.

Borea and Torin had landed several feet away and jogged over to them, Silth and Slonk dizzy from how fast Torin had landed. He stopped and looked at Kitsune for a moment to make sure she was not hurt, then gave Verte an appreciative look. He then walked a few feet past them, lifting his arms and feeling in the air for whatever had caused the incident. His hands soon came to rest on an invisible force field of some sort, and he pressed hard against it. It didn't move, and he grunted with effort and stopped.

"I think it's safe to say that The City of Many Truths is nearby. Based off of this, I'd bet they are a pretty technologically advanced society, too." he said slowly, looking around.

"That'ssss great, but how do we get through? Sssslonk and I have never been in the city, ssso we know nothing of what liesss within thissss ssshell." Silth hissed, pressing his head against the force field from his perch on Torin's shoulder.

Borea looked around carefully, pausing when she noticed someone else standing beside her. He was a very short, squat man, with a wide mouth and tiny black eyes. His skin was a light, unhealthy looking gray, and covered in pebble-like bumps. He had a tiny amount of thin, wispy gray hair atop his head, and a wire-thin mustache under his rather large nose. He wore a dark blue tunic and a pair of thick black pants, and stood on bare feet. His stubby fingers and toes were webbed, holding a bent and gnarled walking stick in one of his hands. He grinned widely, revealing sharp, tiny teeth, as Borea shrieked and jumped away from him. The others immediately turned toward him, Torin quickly drawing his bow and putting an arrow to the string.

The amphibian laughed at the gesture, slapping his knee and doubling over in mirth.

"Eh-heheheheh! Ya two took quite a tumble, didn't ya? Hehhehhehheh, I haven't had a show like that in years! Tryin' to get inta the city, are ya?" the toad hybrid cackled at them.

"Yes, we are. How do we get in?" Kitsune asked quickly, before Torin could give a much ruder reply.

"Ya are almost there, just gotta let me take ya across the swamp in my little boat. First, ya have to solve a riddle, though. Think ya can handle it?" the toad answered, grinning widely.

"Yes, anything. Just hurry, please." Borea glanced nervously over her shoulder. She had been growing increasingly tense and anxious ever since Verte told them about their pursuer.

"Alright, lass, keep yer wings on. Here is the gatekeeper's riddle, told by yers truly, Dourdain the gatekeeper. What's black an' white, and red all over?" Dourdain asked gleefully, hopping from one foot to the other.

The group cringed at both his odd behavior and at the ease of his riddle.

"That would be you, if you don't take us to the city." Torin growled at him, grunting when Kitsune elbowed him in the stomach.

"Was that yer answer?" Dourdain asked with a sloppy grin.

"No, no, no! It's a newspaper." Borea said quickly.

The man giggled childishly and nodded at her, jumping up and down happily.

"Ya got it, ya did! Alrighty, you lot follow ole Dourdain! I'll take ya to the city!" the toad gave a little hop and turned briskly on his heel.

He started to lead them deeper into the thick swamp, moving slowly and limping a bit with each step. He leaned heavily on his walking stick, and had to pause several times to wrench it up from the mud. The group followed him in awe, looking around at the strange beauty of the dark swamp. Several long vines hung from the Mangrove Trees, providing homes for the many types of birds and insects that made the swamp their home. They swatted almost frantically as a huge swarm of mosquitoes fell upon them, trying to land and make a meal of their blood. Verte grunted as one decided it would be a good idea to fly up his nose, making him sneeze loudly.

"Ugh, disgusting!" he groaned, shaking his head.

"Yeah, little bugs are pretty thick here in the swamp. Plenty a standing water for 'em to breed and lay eggs. Annoying little pests. Wish that crazy ole bird Malnice had started a war against mosquitoes instead a every other race but 'is." Dourdain said over his shoulder, chuckling.

"That's part of why we came here. We want to end this terrible war, and were hoping the City of Many Truths would help." Kitsune piped up hopefully.

"Eh, not gonna happen." Dourdain spat back, his tone suddenly dark and angry.

"What? Why not?"

"Wanna hear a truth about the city? Parliament's run by a bunch a stiffs and cowards. 'ell, most a 'em are only concerned about themselves. The ones who are a tad more noble care only about the city. As long as the force field is up, the Cave of Mazes is guarded, and the city is still disguised as a bunch a mountains, they don't care about the war. They sit up there in their little high-chairs and debate over stupid little issues like _construction projects_ and _taxes_, while the rest a the world is goin' to 'ell." Dourdain spat indignantly.

"But, they have to help us. If Malnice wins, there will be nothing left of this world. He's crazy, he'll destroy everything!" Kitsune yelped, tears brimming in her eyes.

"I understand that, but Parliament does not. There are a few people in the city who get it, as well. They petition Parliament to do something almost every day, but they always get shot down." Dourdain stopped at the edge of a large body of murky brown water.

A long wooden canoe was tethered to a rotting wooden post hammered into the mud at the edge of the lake. Dourdain motioned for them to get inside, and watched as they carefully piled into the wobbling canoe. Once they were situated he climbed in after them and untethered the little boat, using his walking stick to shove it away from the shore. He grabbed a paddle mounted on the inside of the boat and began to paddle them away from the shore.

"There has to be some way to convince them to help us. If the Knights aren't stopped, the city will eventually be destroyed. Do they think that they're invincible?" Kitsune asked as the gatekeeper slowly paddled the canoe deeper into the swamp.

"Well, not exactly. Ya see, The City a Many Truths is extremely technologically advanced. They restored the power grid in the area where the city was, so it can use electricity just like before the Third World War. Their defenses are almost impenetrable, as ya found out earlier. Parliament does not think that they're invincible; they think that no one unwanted can get inta the city." the toad answered, guiding the boat around a Mangrove Tree.

Kitsune sighed and leaned back, thinking over what Dourdain had said. It was disappointing and upsetting to hear that the government of the city was loathe to help them, but they still had to try. If they gave up here, their whole journey would have been pointless. Plus, the Knights of the Sky had to be stopped at all costs.

"We still have to try. Someone has to stop the Knights. We can't let them get away with all of the terrible things that they have done." Kitsune stared hard at the toad, her eyes hard with determination.

Dourdain blinked at her in slight surprise, then grinned.

" 'at's the spirit, girl! Maybe ya can convince Parliament to get off a their asses and do somethin' afore it's too late!" he proclaimed happily, speeding up in his paddling.

The trip through the swamp was only an hour long, and when Dourdain paddled them around a bend in the lake, they got their first glimpse of several tall structures. Bright lights glittered from square windows, and most of the buildings rose into the sky. They all looked like they were made of a cold gray stone, and a thick light gray haze hovered above the city. Several strange beeps, honks, and chirps echoed from the city, and the air smelled heavily of smoke and gasoline. The group stared in awe at the unfamiliar sight;none of them had ever seen anything so spectacular before. Dourdain smirked at their shocked expressions.

"Welcome, friends, to The City a Many Truths."


	17. A Guide

**A Guide**

The group flinched a little as the little brown canoe bumped into the shore, their attention shaken from the splendor of the massive city before them. They climbed carefully out of the boat, then turned back to look back at the thick swamp. It was still mid-afternoon, so the swamp was penetrated by thin shafts of yellow sunlight. Small bugs seemed to dance in and around the light as if enjoying the warmth they provided. Dourdain smiled at them contently and looked out over the swamp as well.

"It's quite the sight, eh? Well, this is where I leave ya, but good luck convincing Parliament to help ya!" he said jovially before pushing away from the shore and starting back into the murky water.

"Thank you for your help, Dourdain!" Borea called after him, and he waved back at them in reply.

"Okay, enough of this. Let's go get this done." Torin turned quickly and began running toward the city.

The others followed hastily, curious to see the city up close. They ran up a hill, and stumbled upon a paved road on the other side. Large metal things moved quickly over the road, propelling themselves on wheels or hovering a few inches over the gray surface. They roared by, producing a thick smog that made the startled group of outsiders cough.

"What the hell are those things?" Torin barked, putting a hand on his bow suspiciously.

"They're cars, they were used for transportation before the war. Come on, if we cross this it looks like we'll be in the city." Verte took a few steps forward onto the road, then jumped back, narrowly avoiding getting hit by a car.

"Why aren't there any of these paths into the city?" he growled, sighing in frustration.

"I doubt they need them. No where else on Earth has cars, so there isn't really a reason to have roads going out of the city. Come on, we have to hurry across." Kitsune braced herself, waiting for a break in traffic. When one came, the group dashed across the road and onto the other side.

They stood and looked back at the road for a moment, then turned to get their first close look at the city. The buildings were much larger than they had even appeared from the swamp. Hybrids of all sorts bustled along the sidewalks, and cars roared over the many roads that ran in a grid throughout the city. The hybrids shot the group odd looks, whispering to one another about their odd clothes, dirty appearance, and primitive looking weapons.

"They act like they've never seen outsiders before." Borea remarked softly, slightly embarrassed at their stares.

"They might not have. Most people don't know anything about this place. Come on, let's go see if we can find the Parliament building." Kitsune suggested, and the others nodded in agreement.

They started to walk slowly through the city, fascinated by all of the things they saw. There were all sorts of shops along the edges of the roads, selling anything from food to clothes to strange looking devices, with screens and wires and flashing lights all over them. Salesmen and women barked at them and shoved objects into their faces, which they refused in confusion. After almost an hour of wandering, even Torin had to admit that they were lost.

"We sssssshould have assssked for directionsssss a long time ago." Slonk hissed, looking around in complete puzzlement.

"Thisss city issss a maze." Silth agreed, just as confused.

The group paused when they heard an amused chuckle, and turned to see a man close to their age walking toward them. He was a fox hybrid, with two large white ears sticking out of his messy black hair and a long, well-groomed white tail flicking back-and-forth behind him. His skin was a pale cream color, and he wore black dress pants, gleaming black dress shoes, and black button-up shirt with a stunningly white blazer over it. A black fedora with a white ribbon tied neatly around it sat atop his head, tilted slightly toward the left. His eyes were a bright, crystal blue, and glimmered in curiosity at the strangers he had found from behind a pair of metallic-gray rimmed glasses. He wore a single golden stud in his left ear, and bore two rings on his right index finger. He held a long, thin hookah in one slender, thin-fingered hand, and a stream of smoke curled up from it. The man grinned at them as he approached.

"It's not that bad, once you get used to it. You guys don't look like you're from around here." he greeted them, his gaze traveling over each of them. His grin widened when his eyes fell onto Kitsune, who blushed uncomfortably under his intense blue eyes.

"Especially you. I would certainly have noticed you before now. Who are you?" the man asked curiously, his thin claws clicking as he tapped some ashes out of his hookah and took a drag from it.

"We could ask you the same question." Verte growled, bristling a little; he did not like the hungry look in the fox's eyes as he looked at Kitsune.

"I asked you first. I'll answer once you do." the mammalian replied with a smirk, turning his head to exhale a long stream of smoke.

"I'm Verte, the serpents are Silth and Slonk, the raccoon is Torin, Borea is the bat, and the jackal is Kitsune." Verte answered, narrowing his eyes cautiously.

"Alright. Well, my name's not important, but everyone in this quaint little town calls me Pop Roxie. I own a casino a short ways from here. There, now we know each other a little bit better. Isn't that right, Kitten?" Pop Roxie grinned at Kitsune and winked, and she shuddered in response.

"My name's Kitsune." she reminded him forcefully, and he chuckled.

"Yeah, but Kitten suits you. So, you guys are from outside of the city?" the fox asked, taking another drag from his hookah.

"Yes." Verte answered stiffly, his feathers sticking up in irritation at the man's incessant flirting.

"Interesting. We don't get outsiders much. What are you lot doing here? From the looks of those weapons of yours, I'm going to venture a guess that you're not here for a vacation." Pop Roxie asked, not noticing the avian's anger.

"Decidedly not. We came to enlist the city's help in destroying the Knights of the Sky." Verte replied coldly.

"Yeah? Ha! Good luck with that, mate. Parliament won't have it. I've been arguing that we need to crush the Knights for years, but they always refuse." Pop Roxie sighed and shook his head.

"Well, we have to try. Do you think you can show us where the Parliament building is?" Kitsune asked.

"Of course. Anything for you, Kitten. I'll be your guide this lovely afternoon." Pop Roxie grinned and put out his hookah, stuffing it into one of the pockets of his blazer.

"Eh, thanks..." Kitsune replied with a sigh, rolling her eyes.

"Alright, follow me! On to the Parliament building!" the fox grinned and started down the street briskly, chuckling as the others fell into step behind him.

"Sssso, you ssssaid you owned a cassssino sssomewhere?" Slonk hissed slowly, narrowing his visible eye at the strange man.

"Yep, the best one in town! We've got cards, roulette tables, pool, the whole nine yards. I assume none of you have been to one before, since you're from outside of the city, but I'm sure you've heard of them?" Pop Roxie asked over his shoulder.

"Yesss, we have. Lotsss of gambling, drinking, and loosssse women." Silth hissed.

"Well, yes, but that's the business! I try to keep things relatively clean in my place, though. It's called The Golden Dragon's Lair. You guys will have to come by sometime and have a look for yourselves." Pop Roxie replied with a shrug.

"I think I'll pass, thanks." Verte growled, rustling his wings.

"That's too bad, then. It's really a fun place. You'll come, won't you, Kitten?" Pop Roxie looked over his shoulder at her and winked.

"Eh, it doesn't sound like it's my type of place." Kitsune mumbled in embarrassment.

Pop Roxie sighed and shook his head, a smirk across his thin lips, and led them on, pointing out restaurants, hotels, and other places that seemed important. He either did not notice or did not care about the harsh glares that both Verte and Torin shot at him. They turned several corners along the way to the Parliament building, and the group soon decided it was best to get a map at some point soon.

"Okay, guys, there it is up there. Welcome, my friends, to the Parliament Hall!" Pop Roxie exclaimed dramatically, gesturing to a building in front of them.

The building was massive, dwarfing all of the other skyscrapers in the entire city. The windows reflected the midday Sun brightly, making them look like scales on a tall reptilian creature. The top of the Parliament Hall was domed by a shining golden roof that glimmered brightly. The building was very flashy, standing out against the rest of the gray city.

"That's also where the Defense Department is. They're the ones in charge of keeping the force field up, and using that big hologram device of theirs to make the city look like a mountain range. I hear that they're working on some top-secret project in there, too." Pop Roxie whispered to them, glancing around to make sure no one else heard him.

"If it's top-secret, then how do you know anything about it?" Torin growled sceptically.

Pop Roxie chuckled and winked at him.

"Being a casino owner isn't my only job, I'll have you know. I've got people on the inside, watching everything that goes on inside that building. I can't tell you why here, but tell you what. I'll wait for you guys outside of the Parliament Hall. When you come out, I'll set you up with a place to stay, get you some maps, and then we can find somewhere more private to talk about a few things. Okay, now let's scoot! You guys wanted to talk to the Parliament, right?" Pop Roxie hurried toward the massive building, the others jogging to catch up with him.

The group soon found themselves at the door to the building. They paused a few feet away from it, confused. The door had no handles, it was just a thick pane of glass with a metal frame. Pop Roxie smirked at their confusion and walked closer to the door, and it slid open on its own. He then grinned back at them over his shoulder, exposing his sharp teeth.

"It's an automatic door, just walk up and it'll slide open. I keep forgetting that you guys live where the power grid is still out, so you don't have anything powered by electricity. You guys have a lot to learn about this place. Now, come on, let's go. I'll take you to the Parliament's meeting chambers, then wait outside the building for you." he explained, his grin widening as they filed past him and into the building.

The inside of the Parliament Hall was just as grand as the outside, with several winding marble staircases ascending the building. The floor was covered by a colorful ornate carpet, and several dark wood desks sat on the far end of the room. Well dressed attendants sat at these desks and guided visitors to the location of whatever service they were searching for. People busted about the building, talking lowly to one another and walking lightly so as to not make to much noise on the marble stairs. Most of them wore business suits, making Verte and his group stand out like black specks on a white tablecloth.

"We look really shabby. Should we have gotten something a little nicer to wear first?" Borea asked, blushing a light pink.

"Nah, you guys look like you've been through a lot of hardship. It'll make your plea much more convincing. They'll eat it up, and maybe will actually consider what you have to say. Now, come on. I already know where we're going, so there's no need to consult any of the assistants here." Pop Roxie smirked and tilted his hat slightly toward one of the receptionists, who gave an indiscreet nod back at him.

He led them behind the stairs to a set of shining silver doors that looked like they were deep set in the wall. There were two buttons on the wall next to the doors, one with an arrow pointing up on it, the other with a down arrow. He mashed the up button, then reclined on his heels and whistled a light, airy tune to himself. After a minute the two doors slid open, revealing a tiny room with gleaming metallic walls inside. Pop Roxie grinned and strode inside, then turned to look at the others. He blinked at their nervous and curious expressions, then laughed loudly.

"Come on in, it's not gonna hurt you. It's an elevator, they're used to carry people up or down long distances." Pop Roxie explained.

"Why don't people just take the stairs?" Torin asked as they piled into the elevator.

"Some of them do, but elevators are just more convenient. Now, we're going to the 14th floor. When you leave the Parliament Chamber, find the elevator and hit the down button. Then get in and hit the first floor button, and it'll carry you back down."

"Yeah...or we could take the stairs." Torin muttered as the doors slid shut behind them.

Pop Roxie smirked to himself at Torin's cheeky comment and hit a button labeled "14" on the control panel next to the doors, and the elevator lurched. Kitsune flinched as the elevator began to more slowly, and they could tell from its movement that it was going up. An awkward silence hung over them like a veil as the steel contraption rose slowly, then lurched again and came to a stop. A light beeping noise rang out, and the doors slid open.

"Alright, this is the 14th floor. Come on." Pop Roxie announced, leading his charges from the elevator happily.

The group followed their overenthusiastic guide curiously, looking around at the paintings hanging on the cream-colored walls of the hall. They were all landscapes, some showing elegant forests, others rugged caverns and canyons, and others roaring waterfalls spewing heavy white mist as their waters crashed to the ground below. Kitsune's eyes lit up at the sight of the artwork, and she slowed down a little to get a better look at them. Pop Roxie noticed her fascination and grinned.

"Lovely, aren't they, Kitten?" he asked, hoping to get another spunky reply.

"Indeed." Kitsune answered softly, admiring the artwork contently.

Pop Roxie frowned in thought for a moment, then allowed a small, genuine smile to cross his lips.

"I'm glad that you like them." he spoke softly, then turned quickly and continued down the hall.

They soon came to a large set of mahogany double doors, and Pop Roxie nodded at them.

"This is it. Alright, let's get his over with. I'm not exactly well received on the Parliament scene." Pop Roxie sighed and pushed the heavy doors open.


	18. A Not-So-Warm Welcome

**A Not-So-Warm Welcome**

The room beyond the massive doors was large as well, built in an octagonal shape. Large, somewhat tacky tapestries hung over the walls, and the carpet was even more grand than that of the building's lobby. An impressive crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting its light over the room completely. Several tall wooden chairs were arranged in a semicircle along the edges of the room, and it was here that the members of Parliament sat. there were seven of them in total, all staring curiously down at their new guests.

One of them was a reptilian, and quite an intimidating reptilian indeed. He seemed to have the same genetic mutation that made Silth and Slonk look like snakes, but he was much larger. He looked like a monstrous cobra, with vibrant orange eyes and coal black scales. His long body was about as thick as the trunk of a mature Oak Tree, and wound around his chair, leaving a decent length trailing on the floor. He hissed lowly, flicking his long forked tongue at them and opening the massive hood on his neck a little. He narrowed his eyes at their unfamiliar scent and appearance, swaying slightly on his perch.

Next to him stood a massive tank with clear walls, full of water. A fish hybrid stared at them with beady black eyes from within, his green scales shining a little in the light from the chandelier. He had thin wisps of dark green hair that swayed in the water, and wore a pair of black pants and a black shirt over his muscular body. He eyed them curiously, swimming up to the top of the tank and poking only his head above the water, keeping the gills on his neck below so he could breathe.

Next sat a very regal, and admittedly quite beautiful, woman with sun-tanned skin and long, raven-colored hair that fell well past her shoulders. She wore a long orange dress with black spots all over it , which matched the massive yet delicate-looking butterfly wings that fluttered a little from her shoulder blades. She was very thin and graceful, sitting with her legs crossed royally at the ankles and smiling sweetly down at them. Two long, slender antennae rose up out of her hair and curled over her head in a single, carefully-maintained loop. She observed the group curiously through heavily-lidded green eyes.

A low snort tore the group's attention to the next person, an amphibian hybrid. He was somewhat short, and a little chubby, but his expression was welcoming and good-natured. He wore a green tunic and black pants over his body, and a thin crown of gray hair curled neatly atop his otherwise bald head. His watery eyes were a deep gray, and were deep-set in his face.

An avian man sat next to him, his amber eyes locked on Verte like a vice, staring hard and thoughtfully at him. His hair was thick and messy, hanging in snow-white strands over his face and neck. His wings were large, but several of the gray feathers were missing, making them look very patchy and poorly kept. He wore a pair of jeans and a regal dark blue shirt, with a matching jacket hanging loosely off of his arms. He never tore his gaze off of Verte, making the young man squirm slightly in discomfort.

"Stop it, Nocturne. You're making them nervous."

The avian grunted and looked toward the source of the voice. It was the mammalian sitting calmly next to him, staring back at him sternly with deep brown eyes. He was a lion, with a regal mane of thick golden hair hanging over his head and neck. He was very tall and well-built, wearing a button-up white tunic and black pants. Two tiny, round ears poked up through his thick head of hair, and a thin tail with a small tuft on dark golden fur on the end curled around one of the legs of his chair. He grinned at them, revealing very pronounced canine teeth.

The last member of Parliament was a human. She looked to be elderly in the extreme, with long, curly gray hair and somewhat cloudy brown eyes. She wore a pair of black pants and a purple shirt, with a long white lab coat over her thin body. She seemed to be in excellent health for such an elderly looking woman, and age and experience seemed to have given her a deep and wide-ranging wisdom. Intelligence emanated from the woman like a force field of her own, and a subconscious shudder ran through the group. Regardless of the butterfly-woman's stunning beauty, which Torin seemed to be having a hard time pulling his eyes away from, and the giant serpent's horrifying size, the human was the most intimidating person in the room.

The members of Parliament stared down at the newcomers curiously, waiting for someone to say something. Pop Roxie took a step forward and bowed lowly, removing his hat with a sly grin as he did so.

"May I present a group of newcomers to The City of Many Truths, who request an audience with our great leaders?" he said regally, a hint of bitterness in his tone.

"Thank you, Maximillian. I suggest you scurry on and let us get acquainted with our guests." the avian named Nocturne replied coolly.

Pop Roxie stood with a scowl, his cheeks burning a bright red, and jammed his hat back onto his head indignantly.

"I refuse to be addressed by that name. Now, I'll be taking my leave. See you lot later." he snorted and stormed from the room, leaving the group alone with the now slightly annoyed Parliament.

"I suggest you six be very careful when dealing with Roxie. That fox is as slippery as an eel, greasy as an opossum, and vicious as a wolverine if you make him your enemy. We're pretty sure he's involved in several crime syndicates as well." The toad hybrid warned them carefully.

"If he's involved in criminal activity, then why is he still out on the streets?" Torin growled.

"We can't seem to catch any hint of him in any of the crimes, even though we know he is involved. He always manages to get away." the butterfly woman answered, stretching delicately.

"Alright, enough chatter. You all came here for an audience with us, but introductions need to be made first," the lion spoke loudly, making it clear that he was in charge, " My name is Diesen, and I am the Parliament Chairman. The serpent over to your left is Javier, and he acts as our Secretary of Defense. Next to him is Barle, the Secretary of Education. Then there's Lady Mariposa, Head of Entertainment. To her left is Thutn, our Head of Economics. And lastly we have Mrs. Bowdler, the Head of the Science and Research Department. You were already introduced to Nocturne, Chief of Internal Affairs." Diesen introduced them regally, and each member gave a slight nod as their name and position was mentioned.

The group introduced themselves one by one, and Nocturne's eyes widened considerably, then narrowed in thought as Verte spoke his name. Diesen nodded at them, ignoring the avian, and cleared his throat.

"Very well. Maximillian said that you sought an audience with us before he stormed away. What is it that you want? It's very unusual to have outsiders come into the city, none the less come immediately here to speak to us." he asked curiously.

The group exchanged looks, trying to figure out who was to speak, before Verte took a deep breath and a few hesitant steps forward.

"I used to work for the Knights of the Sky, albeit against my will. I was a blacksmith, and the weapons they forced me to craft led to the deaths of hundreds, maybe even thousands, of innocent people. Lives have been dashed away as easily as the flame on the wick of a candle because of me. I feel horrible about what my creations have led to, but I cannot do anything to change that now. All I can do is try to stop the Knights now that I am free, before they wipe out entire species." he said, his voice growing stronger as he spoke.

The Parliament members watched him with interest, shifting a little in their places as he told his story. They seemed to know what the group was going to ask for, but also seemed as if they weren't convinced that they should give in. Kitsune noticed their hesitance, and strode confidently to Verte's side. She gave him an endearing look and slipped her small hand into his, and he blushed slightly, but held her hand tightly. Nocturne tilted his head a little at the gesture, and Lady Mariposa fluttered her fragile-looking wings a little and smiled. Kitsune turned to look up at the Parliament, giving them each hard looks as she spoke.

"About a month and a half, maybe two months, ago my village was completely destroyed by a woman named Kreeth and her army. She was a general for the Knights, and took most of the survivors of the bloodbath back to one of the Knight's camps as prisoners. I was one of those prisoners. I became Verte's assistant in his forge, and we became friends. He longed for freedom and his stolen identity. I longed for this terrible war to end. We escaped together, met the others together, and made our way here together. We're staying together, to fight the Knights of the Sky and end their purge. However, we can't do it alone. We need your help. Please, I know you don't think it has anything to do with you, but it does! It involves the whole world! Please, help us end this!" Kitsune cried out, tears streaming down her face silently.

"No." Diesen spoke plainly, firmly.

The group stared at him in stunned silence, amazed that the mammalian hadn't even given their plea a moment of thought.

"What do you mean, no? You didn't even think about it!" Torin growled angrily, bristling.

"It requires no thought. We have received similar pleas several times, and have refused all of those as well." Diesen replied calmly.

"But...why?" Kitsune asked softly.

"We do not need to share our reasons with you. Now, if that was all that you wanted with us, then we will ask you to leave." Diesen's eyes narrowed slightly at them.

The group exchanged glances, then sighed and started toward the door. Torin shuddered in anger, his hands curled into fists, and Kitsune hung her head dejectedly. They were about to pass through the door when a voice stopped them.

"Wait!"

They turned to see that Mrs. Bowdler had rolled her wheelchair a little closer to them and was looking at Kitsune intently.

"Kitsune, I want you to meet me outside of this room at this time tomorrow. Only you, alone. Do you think you can do that?" she asked.

Kitsune seemed surprised, but nodded eagerly; any chance to get to know one of the members and influence their decisions was welcome to the group.

Mrs. Bowdler nodded and returned to her place, watching them with her foggy brown eyes. They bowed respectfully and left, shutting the doors carefully behind them. Kitsune sighed and gave the rest of the group a confused look as they began walking back toward the elevator.

"Why does she want to see me?" she asked softly.

"She's probably a bit nutty. We'll have to ask Roxie about it when we talk later tonight." Torin grunted with a shrug, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

The group rode down the elevator in a contemplative silence. They quickly made their way through the sliding glass doors out of the building and were immediately greeted by Pop Roxie, who was leaning against the building with his hookah between his sharp teeth. He smirked when he saw them and swaggered up to them, putting the hookah out and slipping it into his blazer pocket.

"So, how did things go? Are they gonna help?" he asked with a sly grin, already knowing the answer from the looks on their faces.

"No." Verte growled.

"Right-o. Okay, you lot, follow me. There's a house up the block from The Golden Dragon's Lair that you can stay in for a while. We'll talk more there." the fox chuckled and motioned for them to follow him, starting up the street.

The group exchanged glances, remembering the Parliament's warning, but followed him anyway. They didn't really have a choice; scum as he was, Roxie was their only contact in the city. Until they could find a place of their own, they were forced to trust him.


	19. Dinner With A Fox

**Dinner With A Fox**

Pop Roxie smiled to himself as the group explored the house, flicking light switches and marveling at the flickering of the lights. They had been there for half an hour and he had already shown them how to use most of the electronics in the house. Afterward they had divided and claimed one of the many rooms in the two-story house as their own. He waited patiently for their fascination to die down before getting to business; these six idiots could be the key to his plans.

After a few more minutes they finally gathered where he had been waiting in the kitchen. He sighed and took off his hat, ruffling his hair gently. He then smiled and gestured to the wooden table in the middle of the room.

"Can you lot take a seat? Make yourselves comfortable. I have some questions to ask you." he said carefully.

The group nodded and sat down, Silth and Slonk curling up on the table and watching him carefully. He chuckled and sat at the head of the table, hanging his hat on the back of the chair. They sat in silence for a moment before he began, waiting for him to collect his thoughts. He sighed and leaned back before beginning.

"It's not everyday a group of strangers armed to the teeth wander into the city, as you can imagine. Dourdain only lets people in whom he can tell are good people, he wouldn't let a group of villains into our precious walls. I am curious about a few things, though. First of all, how did you guys find out about the city?" Roxie asked calmly.

"None of your business. Next." Torin spat, glancing quickly at Verte; he knew how much Verte wanted to keep his Firesight a secret, and didn't plan on letting this creepy fox know anything about it.

"Fair enough. Where are you lot from?"

"Torin, Borea and I are from the now destroyed village of Aiñor. Silth and Slonk are from the forest outside the Cave of Mazes." Kitsune said slowly, looking to Verte to explain his own answer.

"I am a former blacksmith for the Knights of the Sky." Verte answered stiffly.

Pop Roxie's eyes widened, and he leaned forward to hear him better.

"Is that so? I thought it was impossible to escape from the Knights once you were in service?" he asked, his voice somewhat strained with curiosity.

"It is _almost _impossible, but with Kitsune's help I managed it."

"I take it that Malnice has someone on your tails, then? He wouldn't just let you escape."

"Of course. His best assassin is looking for us as we speak." Borea interjected carefully, earning a glare from Torin.

Pop Roxie turned to her, ignoring the raccoon's suspicious look.

"Assassin?" he asked, his eyes masking a dim spark of interest.

"Yes. A hawk named Penryck. Verte told us that he was Malnice's best warrior. He's been after use for a couple of days now." Borea continued.

Pop Roxie sat back and thought this over for a few minutes. He suddenly jumped up and snatched his hat up, jamming it onto his head and walking briskly to the door.

"You six must be tired. I'll leave you guys alone for a while. Come find me at the casino if you need anything. Goodnight!" he called out before making a hasty exit.

They stared after him in silence for a moment before Torin broke it.

"That creep is up to something." he said slowly.

"Definitely, but I'm too tired to worry over it now. We can figure things out tomorrow. I'm going to bed. Goodnight." Kitsune stood up and hugged each of them, patting the twins on the head instead, before walking up the stairs to her room.

The others followed suit, retiring to their own rooms to think over the day's events.

In the meantime, Pop Roxie walked briskly down the street, a small smile across his face. He was hatching a brilliant scheme, and had to begin planning how to implement it. He hated to cut his interview with the interesting strangers so short, but this simply could not wait.

"Who knew those six idiots would start the ball rolling?" he whispered to himself as he came to a stop in front of a large building.

The building was three stories, with a basement hidden underground as well. Loud music and laughter blared from inside. Colored lights could be seen flashing rapidly through the windows, and a golden neon sign hung over the wooden door, reading "Golden Dragon's Lair" in cursive letters.

Pop Roxie was greeted with cheers and applause as he entered the casino, and he waved cheerfully at the patrons. Several people went to approach him, but he held his hands up to keep them away and silence their chatter. The only sounds in the room were the loud music blaring and the clink of glasses as the bartenders poured drinks. Pop Roxie smiled once he had everyone's attention and dropped his hands to his sides.

"I'm glad to see that you are all having a good time, and I would love to stay up here and enjoy it with you. However, I have some business that I must tend to downstairs, so it will have to wait until another time. Carry on and have a good night!" he finished with a flourish and walked through the noisy crowd to a door at the back of the room.

Pop Roxie opened the door and slipped inside, closing it behind him. It led to a flight of black stairs, which he descended quickly. The stairs led to a large, comfortable-looking room. There were several couches and overstuffed armchairs in the room, and a couple of pool tables as well. There were a couple of steel poles in the middle of the room, from which two scantily-clad woman dangled and danced provocatively. There were several other women in the room as well, wearing skimpy kimonos with intricate patterns on them. They smiled when Roxie entered the room and greeted him with husky, soft voices.

Roxie nodded at them and turned to see a burly-looking man leaning against one of the pool tables. The man was human, and wore a black shirt and a pair of wore-down overalls. He has short brown hair and dull gray eyes, and grinned at Roxie with a look that reminded the fox faintly of a bulldog.

"I thought I'd find you here in the den, Hector. Can we get you anything?" Roxie asked, walking toward another door at the back of the room.

"Just a bit of the usual." the man grunted, eying the women around him hungrily.

"Sure thing. Angela, sweet, fix our friend here up with some of our best Opium." Roxie nodded to a blonde avian girl with white wings, who rushed to do as he had commanded.

Roxie smiled and sat down in one of the armchairs, pulling his hookah and a bit of Opium out of his blazer. He sighed when he had lit the hookah, and took a long drag from it as Angela returned with some for Hector. The burly man thanked her and sat down opposite Roxie, lighting his own and relaxing.

"Ahh, that's good stuff." he said softly.

"Only the best. So, I assume you're here to discuss our partnership?" Roxie asked quickly, not in the mood or beating around the bush.

Hector cleared his throat and sat forward a bit.

"Hm, yes. As you know, people just aren't buying our guns. We can't continue our partnership if you can't sell my guns, Roxie. People here don't need them, and I'm tempted to take the market outside the city to those that could use them. I'm not making any money here, and I'm sure I will there with a war going on." he said slowly, shifting uncomfortably.

Pop Roxie nodded slowly and exhaled a long stream of smoke, then chuckled.

"Don't worry yourself over it, my friend. I have a plan to get people inside those invisible walls to buy your guns. We'll both be rolling in green soon enough." he said with a sly grin.

"What is it that you've got up your sleeve?"

"Tut, tut. Now I can't tell you that. A magician never reveals his secrets."

Hector smiled and chuckled, standing up and putting his hookah out.

"I'll leave you to it, then. I don't see how you do all that you do. A casino, an Opium den, _and _illegal gun trade? If you're caught they'll lock you up for good." he warned lightly.

"If I'm caught implementing this plan, my friend, they'll lop off my head." Roxie replied with a reassuring smile.

Hector nodded and ascended the stairs, Roxie waiting for the door to shut behind him before sighing. He stood up and walked through a door in the back of the room into a small closet. The fox quickly stripped out of his clothes and changed into a long gold kimono. He returned to the den and sat down again, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

"Why don't you get some rest, Pop Roxie?" one of the women asked him, the others watching him with concern.

"I've got too much planning to do to sleep right now. You girls all go home and leave me to do this alone. I don't want any distractions." Roxie answered sternly.

The women nodded at him and bid him goodnight before leaving the room. Roxie chuckled as he heard people cheering and whistling at them from above. He sighed and took a long drag from his hookah, watching the smoke swirl up from his lips as he exhaled. He sighed.

"Now for the fun to really begin."


End file.
